i In 



imiii 







Class iiJjSai 

Book : '- ^ ''^ 4" 

Copyright "N"- 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



''Come 


unto Me, 


all ye 


that 


labor and 


are heavy 


laden: 


and 


ye shall 


find rest 


unto 


your 


souls :' 










The Greal 


t Invit 


ation 




of Jesus. 







Jesus of Nazareth 

THE ANOINTED OF GOD 



OR 

THE INNER HISTORY OF A 
CONSECRATED LIFE 

BY 

P.^OOK, M. A. 




CHICAGO NEW YORK TORONTO 

FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 

LONDON EDINBURGH 

I 904 



.CI*- 



Two Copies Wecetved 
AUG 8 1904 
Oooyr|rht Entry 

JLAst O/ XXe. No. 

COPY B 



Copyright 1904 by P. Cook. 
All Rights Reserved. 







^ 



TO 

F. W. and M. S. 

I AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATE 

THIS BOOK. 



PREFACE. 

This **Life of Jesus of Nazareth" was prepared 
originally as a lecture and it has been thought best to 
retain the lecture-style in this somewhat expanded form. 
Our aim has been to give in as brief a space as possible, a 
connected and vivid account of the life and teachings of 
our Lord, presenting him as he appeared to his friends 
and disciples rather than in his significance for doctrinal 
theology. It is best that the consecration and stainless 
purity of his hfe should convince our heart before skepti- 
cal reason get busy in building or destroying creeds. 
We have endeavored therefore to portray the high nobility 
of his personality rather than to make of his life mere 
building-stones for a doctrinal system. 

This is probably the shortest ^* Life of Christ " ever 
written, yet all the really significant events of his public 
ministry^ have been touched upon and we hope that in 
these days when men are weary of ponderous volumes, 
this unpretentious narrative may find a welcome by reason 
of its brevity. 

Our historical sources, the four gospels, have been 
used in accordance with the assured results of modern 
scholarship. For this reason the gospel of Mark and the 
material common to Matthew and Luke, generally called 
^^Logia," have throughout been accorded the pre- 
eminence. 

P, Cook. 

Bieckenridge, Minn., May, 1904. 

* Those not discussed in the body of the work are referred to in foot 
notes at their proper place. If the reader will look up these, he will have a 
complete text-book on the life of Jesus. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS.^ 

Part I. PREPARATORY EVENTS. 

Chapter I. Introductory. (Passed over in the present work.) 
Chapter II. Infancy Narratives. (Passed over.) 

Chapter III. Preparations. 

1. (Introduction. Jesus and the Perplexities of our Inner Life.) 

2. Preaching of John the Baptist and Baptism of Jesus. 

3. Temptation of Jesus. 

Part II. THE GALILEAN PERIOD. 

I. FROM THE BEGINNING OF JESUS' MINISTRY TO 
THE CHOOSING OF THE TWELVE. 

(The Period of Winning Disciples.) 

Chapter IV. The Beginning of Jesus' Work in Galilee. 

4. Jesus* First Preaching and First Disciples. 

5. First Sabbath in Capernaum. 

6. Preaching in the Galilean Villages. 

Chapter V. Rise of the Hostility of the Scribes and 
Pharisees. 

7. Jesus and Human Sinfulness. 

(a). The Paralytic of Capernaum. 

( b) . The Call of Levi ( Matthew ) . 

(c). The Sinful Woman, 

(d) . The Woman Taken in Adultery. 



*The main divisions and chapter headings are taken from the author's 
" Historico-Critical Harmony of the Gospels," not as yet published. They 
are intended merely for a preliminary survey and therefore are not lepro- 
duced in the body of the work. 



10 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

8. Jesus and External Religion. 

(a). Fasting. 

(b). Sabbath Observance. 

(c). Ceremonial Defilement. 

2. FROM THE CHOOSING OF THE TWELVE TO THE 
WITHDRAWAL FROM PUBLIC WORK AND 
JOURNEYS INTO NORTHERN TER- 
RITORY. 

(The Period of the Evangelization of Galilee.) 

Chapter VI. The General Work of Jesus in and 
Around Capernaum. 

9. The Teachings of Jesus. 

(a). The Sermon on the Mount. — The Good Samaritan, 
(b). Sincerity in our Moral Life (Insufficiency of Pharisaic 

Righteousness) . 
(c). On the Inwardness of True Religion, 
(d) . Prayer and the Life of Fellowship with God. 
(e) . Trust in God and the True Goal of Life, 
(f). Discipleship Exacting. 

10. The Faith of the Centurion. 

11. Reception of Jesus and His Message. 

(a). The Messengers from John the Baptist, 
(b). The Spiritual Apathy of the Multitudes, 
(c) . The Beelzebub Calumny and Request for Signs, 
(d). Jesus' Unbelieving Kinsfolk, 
(e) . The Parables of the Kingdom. 

Chapter VII. Evangelizing Galilee. 

12. Evangelizing Galilee. 

(a) . Miracles in Galilee, 
(b). Rejected at Nazareth. 
(c). The Twelve Sent Out. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS, 11 

Chapter VIII. The Turning Point. Withdrawal from 
Public Work in Galilee. 

13. Jesus' Loss of Popular Favor. 



3. FROM THE NORTHERN JOURNEYS TO THE FINAL 

DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. 

(The Period of the Self-revelation of Jesus to His Disciples.) 

Chapter IX. The Northern Journey Through Gen- 
tile Territory. 

14. The Syrophenician Woman. 

Chapter X. The Journey to Caesarea Philippi. 

15. Journey to Caesarea Philippi. Conflict vfith the Jew^ish Mes- 

sianic Ideal. 

16. The Transfiguration. 

Chapter XI. The Last Days in Galilee. 

17. The End in Galilee. 
l8» The Duty of Forgiving. 

19. The Parables of Grace. 

(a). The Lost Sheep. 

(b). The Lost Coin. 

(c) . The Father's Welcome to the Prodigal Son. 

(d). The Pharisee and Publican. 

Part III. THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 
(Through Perea.) 

Chapter XII. Incidents on the Way to Jerusalem. 

20. The Inhospitable Samaritans. 

21. Jesus Welcomes Children. 

22. Jesus and Wealth. The Rich Young Man, Etc. 

23. The Unholy Ambition of James and John. 

24. Arrival at Jericho. Zacheus. 



12 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Part IV. THE LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 

Chapter XIII. The Public Appearance in Jerusalem. 

25. The Triumphal Entry. Visit to Bethany. 

26. Cleansing of the Temple. 

Chapter XIV. Conflict with the Jewish Rulers. 

27. Jesus Teaching in the Temple. 

28. The Widow's Two Mites. 

Chapter XV. Concerning the Last Things. (Passed 
over.) 

Chapter XVI. The Conspiracy Against Jesus. 

29. Jesu? Anointed by Mary in Bethany. 

Chapter XVII. Jesus' Last Day with His Disciples, 

30. Jesus* Last Day with His Disciples. The Lord's Supper. 
Chapter XVIII. The Passion. 

3 1 . Gethsemane. 

32. The Trial. 

33. The Crucifixion, Death and Burial. 

Chapter XIX. The Empty Tomb and First Appear- 
ances. 

34. The Resurrection. 

Chapter XX. The Later Appearances and Ascension. 
(Passed over. ) 



JESUS OF NAZARETH 
THE ANOINTED OF GOD 



JESUS OF NAZARETH 
THE ANOINTED OF GOD 



THE INNER HISTORY OF A 
CONSECRATED LIFE. 

§ I. Introduction. 
Jesus and the Perplexities of our Inner Life, 

Man, creation's masterpiece, is endowed with 
more divinity than all the world beside, yet 
his history is as much a history of his short- 
comings as of his achievement. Great in in- 
telligence, weak in moral conduct, — bending 
nature's mightiest forces to his will, yet power- 
less to tame the passions in his breast, — lord 
of the whole earth, but not master of himself : 
thus is his glory mingled with disgrace. In 
despair we ask, Was power of self-direction 
and freedom given to us only to be a blot 
upon the fairest of God's fair works? Are 
we strong only to sin, have v/e been exalted 
only to fall, were we born human only to be 
a great failure? Our better nature says No, 
but our history still gives the lie to our aspira- 

15 



16 JESUS OF NAZARETH, § 1 

tions. Our lapses from the path of rectitude 
are distressingly continuous. We are ever 
struggling, but the victory is not yet in sight. 

These sentiments have oppressed every sin- 
cere heart. Yet to feel them, to be conscious of 
shortcomings and stretching after unattained 
ideals, are the beginnings of spiritual excel- 
lency. If the course of the moral development 
of our race has been slow and painful, still it 
has been upward. Though we are not perfect 
as yet, we have within us the promise that 
sometime we shall attain to the full fruition of 
the deepest yearning of our best moments. 

If our night has not yet passed away, still 
we are moving toward the dawn. Nor has it 
been a starless night. At times we have tasted 
of the ^'peace that passeth understanding." 
There has been much of noble manhood and 
womanhood amidst the sin and sorrow of the 
world. Consecrated lives have not been lack- 
ing, and in the One life that by reason of its 
unequaled purity stands out pre-eminently 
among all others, the day star is risen unto us, 
guiding the perplexed sea-farer like a beacon- 
light unto the coveted goal. 

It is not a fairy tale that I am about to set 
before you. Jesus of Nazareth is not a fabled 
personage from the realm of hero-legends 
beyond the pale of history. Nor did he live 



§ 1 INTRODUCTION, 17 

his life upon enchanted ground in the airy- 
regions of perpetual sunshine and peace. He 
lived it upon earth, engulfed in the same 
maelstrom of temptation and evil with our- 
selves. But he has come out of it victorious 
and uncontaminated, bringing to light the se- 
cret of victory over sin and self. — Come with 
me now to the land of the Jews and to a time 
nineteen hundred years ago. 



THE PREPARATION. 



19 



§ 2, The Preaching of John the Baptist and 
Baptism of Jesvis.^^ 

Mk. i:i-ii; Mt. 3:7-i2 = Lk. 3:7-17. 

In the time of Tiberius Caesar a strange man, 
by the name of John, later called the Baptist, 
clad in a garment of camel's hair and living on 
locusts and wild honey, appeared in the Jordan 
valley. He was a prophet sent from God 
preaching righteousness and proclaiming the 
long-hoped-for kingdom of God to be at hand. 
High and low he called to prepare for it by 
repentance lest it should prove, not blessing, 
but judgment and devouring fire. The Jewish 
people were deeply stirred and they flocked to 
him from every village and hamlet. His fame 
also reached the little town in Galilee, where 
Jesus lived. The report of John's proclama- 
tion awakened an eager response in the young 
carpenter's heart. He laid down his hammer 
and chisel and left the Nazareth home that he 
might see this prophet for himself, and know 
more of his message. So he came to the Jor- 
dan. There he stood among the crowds listen- 

* To save space we pass over the well-known narratives of 
the birth and infancy of Jesus. Mt., chapt. I and II, and I^k., 
chapt. I and 11. 

21 



22 JHSUS OF NAZARBTH. §2 

ing to that austere preacher who knew no fear 
of man, to w^hom the vanities of the world, 
riches and fame, were all as nothing: a lover 
of righteousness and hater of hypocrisy. Jesus 
recognized him at once as the greatest ever 
born of women and felt that he could be no 
other than Elijah of old come to prepare the 
way before God. 

The coming of the kingdom of God was what 
Jesus had prayed and most earnestly longed 
for in his carpenter's shop at Nazareth. The 
Jordan prophet was preparing the people for 
its reception, baptizing all who were ready to 
bury their sinful past and rise to a new life. 
To this great work Jesus could not be indiffer- 
ent, so he too stepped down into the river, 
not, however, to wash away his sins, but to con- 
secrate his life henceforth to the kingdom of 
God. In this act of consecration, while rising 
from the waters, to his spiritual eye the heav- 
ens were opened and he heard the voice of God 
saying to him, ''Thou art my Son, my Beloved, 
I am well-pleased in Thee." 

The mantle of Elijah had fallen upon John 
the Baptist, but upon Jesus had come the Spirit 
of God. John was called to be the herald of 
the kingdom's approach: Jesus was God's 
Anointed to usher it in. 



§3 TEMPTATION OF JESUS. 23 

§ J. The Temptation of Jesus, 

Mk. 1 : 12, 13; Mt. 4: i-ii = Lk. 4: 1-13. 

After this sacred baptismal experience Jesus 
could learn no more at the brinks of the Jordan, 
nor was there one to share with him a like ex- 
perience. Only one thing could he do, go to 
the wilderness and in solitude ponder what 
God would have him do. He was too over- 
joyed to eat or drink, for a season the fulness 
of life in his soul refused to be bound to the 
earth by the wants of the body. 

And what did he learn there in the wilder- 
ness of Judea ? First of all that abiding spirit- 
ual life is only to be had as the price of victory 
over temptation. Even a baptism with the 
Spirit of God does not drive the tempter away. 
The battle must be fought to the last inch, and 
the higher the call, the severer the temptation. 

After some days, when Jesus had become 
hungry, the tempter said to him, ''If thou art 
the son of God, turn these stones into bread, 
test your experience of divine sonship by a mir- 
acle.'' But trust in God propped up on signs 
and miracles is only a bastard faith. True 
religion consists not in getting at our selfish 
ends by a pious and miraculous shortcut over 



24 JESUS OF NAZARBTH. §3 

the well-ordered course of nature, but in trust- 
ful waiting and patient endurance of the hard- 
ships of our heavenly Father's appointing. To 
be a child of God means to have child-like and 
implicit faith in His providence. 

Jesus won this first battle and was enabled 
to rise superior to worldly anxiety. For the 
guidance of his own life he could say, *^Man 
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'' 
He had a higher calling now than the mere 
care for food and raiment. To seek first the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness was 
henceforth his vocation. 

But there are other and more insidious temp- 
tations than those connected with our bread and 
butter. The life of trust is not without its dan- 
gers. God's best gifts may be perverted to 
unholy uses. The applause of our fellow men 
is dear to us. Few can resist the temptation 
to become the popular idol and use the easiest 
means to this end. Why should not the special 
favorite of God give to the multitudes its sweet- 
est morsel — a miraculous sign from heaven? 
''Ascend to the pinnacle of the temple and cast 
thyself down," suggested the tempter, for it is 
written 'God will send his angels to bear thee 
up lest haply thou dash thy foot against a 
stone.' It will dazzle the crowds. It is the 



§ 3 TEMPTATION OP JESUS 25 

sure way to gain Israel's ear for thy message/' 
But calmly Jesus answered ''Thou shalt not 
make trial of the Lord thy God'' and so w^on 
the victory over the temptation to make re- 
ligion the minister of one's vanity and self- 
glorification. 

Yet once more the tempter appealed to 
him. This time to the love of power. In 
every healthy man there is an inborn desire to 
conquer the w^orld. Jesus' eyes swept over its 
kingdoms. Can he bring them into subjection 
to his high ideals? Can he rule them? Not 
by truth and integrity. But they can be gained 
if the path of righteousness is not too strictly 
adhered to. A very little winking at evil, 
a slight bend of the knee, is sufficient. ''AH 
these things will I give to thee, if thou wilt but 
fall down and worship me," said the tempter. 
If a man will only sell his soul he can purchase 
the whole world. But Jesus stood this test 
also: to the least suggestion of questiona- 
ble dealing he replied, "Get thee behind me, 
Satan." 

A threefold victory he had gained over 
these three subtlest temptations that strike at 
our inner life. "Tempted in all things as we 
are, he is able to succor them that are tempted." 



THE GALILEAN MINISTRY. 



27 



§ 4' Jesus' First Preaching and First Disci- 
ples,^ 

Mk. 1 : 14-20. (Lk. 5 : i-ii, John 21 : i-ii.) 

Jesus returned from the wilderness, but the 
voice of John was now silent. He had aroused 
the ire of Herod by his rebuke of sin in high 
places and had been cast into prison at Ma- 
chaerus. The crowds had left the Jordan val- 
ley and Jesus went back to Galilee. There he 
began to preach, but his message was not one 
of judgment, like John's. True, he too preached 
repentance, but not in order to escape wrath, 
but to be welcomed into the love of God. It 
was in Galilee, along the shores of its beauti- 
ful lake, that the good news of fellowship be- 
tween man and the living God was first heard. 
But there was nothing peculiar about the 
preacher. He carried no extra piety about in 
holy garments, rather wishing to be known 
only by the unobtrusive, though yet so signifi- 
cant, title ''son of man,'' because he longed to 
identify himself with every human soul in its 
seeking after God, esteeming it greater priv- 

* The Gospel of John, chapter I-IV should here be consulted 
for an account of Jesus' early Judean ministry. 

29 



30 JBSUS OF NAZARETH. § S 

ilege to give himself in sympathy to all than 
to have distinction above his brethren. There- 
fore he came not as the whirlwind or the 
lightning and drew no gaping multitudes after 
him. Almost unheeded wsts his message, until 
one day in Capernaum some fishermen heard 
him. His words struck a tender chord in their 
hearts. They were hungering and thirsting 
after righteousness, and here was One who 
could fill their longings. So Peter and Andrew 
with James and John left their nets to follow 
Jesus. 

§ 5. The First Sabbath in Capernaum. 

Mk. 1 : 21-34. 

On the sabbath-day Jesus went to the syna- 
gogue in Capernaum. He addressed the wor- 
shippers there, but he taught not as the scribes. 
He spoke not in formulas of pious phraseology, 
but told straightforwardly what he had in his 
heart. A demoniac, who happened to be among 
the listeners, upon hearing his earnest words, 
hailed him as the Holy One of God. Jesus, 
however, rebuked the unclean spirit and the 
afihcted man was healed. 

At the close of the synagogue service Peter 
took his new found friend home with him. 



§5 THE FIRST SABBATH, 31 

Having welcomed him to his heart, he wished 
that the Master's benediction might also come 
to his home, and it came in a way he had not 
anticipated. His wife's mother was sick with 
a fever. When Jesus was told of it, he stepped 
to the bedside, took her by the hand and the 
fever left her. At the presence of Jesus the 
shadow fled from the fisherman's house. 

The healing of the demoniac and of Peter's 
wife's mother spread like wild-fire through 
Capernaum. The people in the synagogue had 
marvelled at the words of grace that fell from 
Jesus' lips, but they had been much more im- 
pressed with the cure of the demoniac. They 
waited until evening*, for it was not lawful to 
do work on the sabbath-day, nor would the 
Pharisees allow the healing of the sick on that 
day if they might survive till the morrow. But 
with sun-down the sabbath ended and the whole 
city gathered at the door bringing their sick. 
Jesus healed many of them, yet he had not 
come to be a healer of the body, he meant to be 
a physician of the soul. Therefore he retired 
to the fields that night for prayer to obtain 
strength against the temptation to drift into a 
mere wonderworker. 



33 JBSUS OF NAZARETH. §6 

§ d. Preaching in the Galilean Villages, 

Mk. 1:35-45- (Lk. 17: 11-19.) 

Capernaum had become too excited to listen 
to Jesus' preaching and when Peter with the 
other disciples found him in the morning and 
told him of the clamor of the people, he said to 
them, ^Xet us go elsewhere, into the next 
towns, that I may preach there, for I will not 
be turned aside from my mission." So he went 
throughout Galilee preaching in the syna- 
gogues. 

We have no further record of this preaching- 
tour except that a leper was cleansed. To the 
disease of leprosy Judaism had added the 
stigma of ritual uncleanness, thus ostracizing 
its victims from human sympathy. Such an 
unfortunate one, doubly afflicted by disease and 
the super-righteousness of Pharisaism, appealed 
to Jesus. What shall the preacher of the good 
news of God's kingdom do? Shall he drive 
the sick man from him in holy indignation and 
then go out and bathe himself seven times to 
wash off the pollution of the leper's shadow? 
Thus the Pharisee served his God by despising 
his suffering brother. Not so Jesus of Nazar- 
eth. He was moved with compassion for him. 



§6 IN THE GALILEAN VILLAGES, 33 

He stretched forth his hand and touched the 
leper, breaking a commandment of Moses, but 
giving assurance of fellow-feeHng to an af- 
flicted brother. 

Such an act Pharisaism could never forgive. 
It was a deathblow to this great system of 
manufactured righteousness and artificial sal- 
vation. From this time on Jesus and the 
Pharisees could no longer be anything but 
enemies. The religion of purity of heart and 
the religion of ritualistic good works cannot 
dwell together in peace. 



GROWING HOSTILITY OF THE 
SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. 

Jesus and Human Sinfulness. 
Jesus and External Religion. 



35 



§ /. Jesus and Human Sinfulness. 

(a) The Paralytic of Capernaum. Mk. 2: 1-12. 

After this preaching-tour Jesus returned to 
Capernaum. Since he had found his first dis- 
ciples there, he made this village his headquar- 
ters. His fame had greatly increased and as 
soon as the people heard of his return, they 
gathered to see and hear him. A paralytic also 
had become greatly interested in him. Unable 
to walk, he persuaded four of his friends 
to carry him to the house where Jesus was 
teaching. But they arrived too late, for the 
crowd was already solidly packed around the 
door so that they could not get in. This only 
made them the more determined, and noth- 
ing daunted, they carry the paralytic up the 
outer stairway leading to the top of the 
flat-roofed house. They dig through the 
mud-roof and let their friend down in the 
very presence of Jesus. He is pleased with 
their earnestness, and interpreting the par- 
alytic's deepest desire, says to him: ''Son, 
thy sins are forgiven.'' Our real life we 
live within. The paralysis of our moral pow- 

37 



38 JESUS OF NAZARETH. § 7 

ers we feel more keenly than physical helpless- 
ness. Divine forgiveness alone can heal this 
mortal wound and to the paralytic's sin-sick 
soul the words of Jesus were like life from 
death. 

But the scribes, Jesus' enemies, also were 
there. In their vaunted self-righteousness they 
despised the way to God by penitence, and re- 
fused to rejoice at the prodigal's return. They 
murmured: ''Blasphemy! blasphemy! how dare 
this man pronounce forgiveness of sins.'' As 
Jesus had read the desire of the paralytic, so 
also he perceived their mutterings and said to 
them: ''Why reason ye these things in your 
hearts? Which is easier. To say to the para- 
lytic, Thy sins are forgiven, or to say. Arise, 
take up thy bed and walk?" But that ye may 
know that the son of man hath authority on 
earth to forgive sins (he says to the paralytic) 
"I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed and 
go unto thy house." And he arose and 
straightway took up the bed and went forth 
before them all. And they were all amazed, 
saying, We never saw it on this fashion. 

(b) The Call of Levi (Matthezv). Mk. 2: 13-17. 

Jesus continued his ministry in Capernaum 
and the neighborhood of the sea of Galilee. At 



§ 7 HUMAN SINFULNESS. 39 

this time the Jewish people were subject to 
Rome and consequently had to pay taxes to 
a heathen government. All peoples resent the 
payment of taxes to their conquerors, but to 
the Jews it was a double thorn that they, God's 
chosen people, should pay taxes to idolaters. 
For this reason the few Jews who, for the sake 
of personal profit, could be found to act as 
tax-collectors, drew down upon themselves 
from their countrymen a full measure of hatred 
and contempt. They were held to be, not only 
unpatriotic, but also irreligious, tenfold more 
heathenish than the heathen themselves. It 
was a religious merit to despise a publican. 

In charge of the custom-house at Caper- 
naum was a man by the name of Levi or Mat- 
thew. He had had abundant opportunity to see 
and hear Jesus and had not been slow to no- 
tice that he was different from the scribes. He 
saw that the teacher from Nazareth valued men 
neither according to their profession nor their 
zeal in observing religious conventionalities. 
Instead of living in holy separation from his 
fellowmen, he was, full of sympathy for all, 
making every man feel that in spite of all fail- 
ings, he was possessed of a soul of infinite 
value. Even they that had fallen lowest felt 
a new respect for themselves, because Jesus re- 
spected them. — One day he was passing the 



40 JESUS OF NAZARETH, §7 

publican's place of toll. Business was not 
brisk. Jesus lingered and Matthew made bold 
to enter into conversation with him. Little by 
little he unburdened his heart and finally told 
of his desire to be a better man. This sacred 
hour ended by Matthew leaving the custom- 
house to follow Jesus. 

The call of Matthew to be one of his dis- 
ciples was altogether out of harmony with the 
prevailing ideas of religion. He was a pub- 
lican, an outcast, and Judaism knew nothing of 
seeking to reclaim the lost. Jewish pride could 
hardly have enjoyed heaven unless it could 
see the Gentiles committed to the flames of 
Gehenna. The zest of being the chosen peo- 
ple consists in being able to look down upon 
somebody left out. The Pharisees were pro- 
selyters, but it was only the clique-spirit that 
actuated them. 

Matthew now made a great feast in honor of 
Jesus and invited his fellow-publicans to it. 
This gave the scribes an opportunity to vent 
their jealousy against Jesus. Tauntingly they 
said to his disciples ''Your Master? — he eateth 
and drinketh with publicans and sinners,'' to 
which Jesus replied, ''They that are whole have 
no need of a physician, but they that are sick. 
I came not to call self-righteous conceit, but 
contrite sinners to the kingdom of God." 



§7 HUMAN SINFULNESS, 41 

The difference between Jesus and the Phari- 
sees toward human sinfulness is even more 
strikingly brought out by two other incidents 
in our Lord's ministry. 

(c) The Sinful Woman. Lk. 7 : 36-50. 

The evangelist Luke relates how a Pharisee 
invited Jesus to dine with him. While he was 
reclining at table there came a sinful woman, 
who through Jesus' preaching had been led to 
forsake her sinful ways. She brought an ala- 
baster cruse of ointment and standing at his 
feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with 
her tears and wiped them with the hair of her 
head. Then she kissed them and anointed 
them with the ointment. When Simon, the 
Pharisee, saw this, he said within himself, 
"This man, if he were a prophet, would have 
perceived who and what manner of woman this 
is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner.'' 
Jesus said unto him, ''Simon, I have somewhat 
to say unto thee." And he saith, ''Teacher, say 
on." Jesus said, "A certain lender had two 
debtors; the one owed five hundred shillings 
and the other fifty. When they had not where- 
with to pay, he forgave them both. Which of 
them therefore will love him most?" Simon 
answered and said, "He, I suppose, to whom he 
forgave most." And he said unto 'him, "Thou 



42 JESUS OF NAZARETH, § 7 

hast rightly judged." And turning to the wo- 
man he said unto Simon, ''Seest thou this wo- 
man? I entered into thy house, thou gavest 
me no water for my feet ; but she hath wetted 
my feet with her tears and wiped them with 
her hair. Thou gavest me no kiss; but she, 
since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss 
my feet. My head with oil thou didst not 
anoint ; but she has anointed my feet with oint- 
ment. Wherefore I say unto thee, 'Her sins 
which are many, are forgiven, for she loved 
much.' But to whom little is forgiven the same 
loveth little.'' Righteous Simon could not un- 
derstand the gratitude of a penitent soul, he had 
never helped a heart in distress. He was too 
good for that. . 

(d) The Woman Taken in Adultery. John 7:53-8:11. 

The gospel of John preserves another in- 
stance of this kind from the close of Jesus' min- 
istry. It was during the last few days when he 
was teaching in the temple that the scribes and 
Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery 
and set her before him saying, ^'Teacher, this 
woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very 
act. The law of Moses commands us to stone 
such; what sayest thou of her?" They thought 
they had here an opportunity to bring him into 
conflict either with the law of Moses or the civil 



§7 HUMAN SINFULNESS. 43 

authorities. But Jesus stooped down, and with 
his finger wrote on the ground. When they 
kept on pressing him for an answer, he Hfted 
himself up and said, ''He that is without sin 
among you, let him first cast a stone at her.'' 
Conscience-smitten they went out every one. 
When Jesus and the woman were left alone 
he said to her, ''Woman, where are thy accus- 
ers? Did no man condemn thee?" She said, 
"No man. Lord.'' And he said, "Neither do I 
condemn thee, go thy way, from henceforth sin 
no more." 

Such tenderness begat hope in the callous 
heart that not all was lost. It was an inspira- 
tion to begin a new life. Jesus' contact with 
the sinful did not drag him down to their level. 
His deep yearning for their spiritual regenera- 
tion awakened their dormant better nature to 
blossom forth once more, like sunshine in 
spring kisses the barren earth into radiant 
green. 



44 JBSUS OF NAZARETH, §8 



§ 8, Jesus and External Religion. 

(a) Fasting. Mk.- 2 : 18-22. 

The common people heard Jesus gladly, 
nevertheless in some respects they, too, were 
mystified by his conduct. This seems to have 
been the case Vv^ith regard to fasting, which was 
universally considered a meritorious religious 
exercise. Therefore they came to him once and 
said, ''John's disciples and the Pharisees fast. 
You are a teacher of religion, why then do you 
not teach your disciples to fast?" He answered 
''The kingdom of God has come. This is good 
news and who celebrates good news with fast- 
ing?" Religion fills the soul with joy, and 
therefore, like a v/edding-feast, it is not an 
occasion for fasting. 

(b) Sabbath-Observance. Mk. 2:23-3:6.* 

Still more incomprehensible to his contempo- 
raries must have been Jesus' attitude toward 
the sabbath. According to their ideas, he flag- 
rantly broke it. You must read the Talmud 
in order to know what a plague the scribes had 
made of the day that should be the light of all 

* Compare here Mt. 12:9-14; I^k. 13: 10-17; 14: 1-6, and John 
5; 1-47; 7: is-24. 



§8 EXTERNAL RELIGION, 45 

the days. Numerous controversies between 
Jesus and the Pharisees on this point are re- 
corded in the gospels. He allowed his disciples, 
when they were hungry, to rub out ears of 
grain on the sabbath. Repeatedly he healed 
the sick on that day, all of which were unpar- 
donable sins in the eyes of the scribes. 

(c) Ceremonial Deiilment. Mk. 7: 1-23. 

At the close of the Galilean ministry we 
read of a conflict on another point between 
Jesus and Pharisaism. Some scribes who had 
come from Jerusalem, took him to task for 
allowing his disciples to eat without ceremonial 
handwashing. He answered that nothing from 
without can make a man unclean, but from 
within, out of the heart of men evil thoughts 
proceed, which defile them. The Pharisees 
made much of holiness, but it was a holiness 
of pots and pans. They cleansed their vessels 
instead of purifying their hearts. Fasting, 
sabbath-keeping, levitical ablutions, giving 
alms (Mt. 6:2), paying tithes (Mt. 23:23), 
saying prayers (Mt. 6:5f) are externalities 
that leave the secret springs of human conduct 
untouched, therefore Jesus stigmatized such 
things as heathen religion (Mt. 6:y), He 
charged its advocates with perverting morality 
through religion (Mk. 7:8-13) and those, who 



46 JESUS OF NAZARHTH, § 8 

had set up things ethically indifferent as com- 
mandments of God, he branded as hypocrites, 
vipers (Mt. 23 : 23), as wolves in sheep's cloth- 
ing (Mt. 7:15). 

On this account Jesus -has been accused of 
the use of intemperate language. But if he 
was himself in earnest he could not speak other- 
wise. He had come to make men free, to lift 
them into moral self-independence. Yet our 
spiritual emancipation cannot take place so long 
as w^e are good only because we must on pain 
of penalty, or are cajoled into it by the hope 
of gain. It can come only by enthroning a 
God-enlightened conscience as supreme in our 
inner life, leading us to spontaneous willing of 
the good as the real expression of our God- 
given nature. Not till we enter into this spirit- 
ual autonomy are we true sons of God. 

But legalism, statutes and ordinances, en- 
slave the soul. They are the means whereby 
the master tyrannizes over the slave and gains 
his hatred. They do not lead to union with 
the Father's will. If Jesus came to bring men 
to God, he must break down the religion of ex- 
ternal works, which is only self-seeking in a 
thin disguise. And the more sincere he was, 
the deeper must be his revulsion from unreality 
and hollowness. If he had not hurled his ana- 



§ 8 EXTERNAL RELIGION. 47 

themas against the hypocrisy of Pharisaism, 
we could never have been sure of his own in- 
tegrity, for he that does not hate evil cannot 
love the good. 



THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. 

THE FIVE GREAT DISCOURSES 
ON THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 



49 



§ p. The Teachings of Jesus.^ 

THE FIVE GREAT DISCOURSES ON THE 
CHRISTIAN LIFE. 

We have now had a glimpse of the general 
spirit and tendencies of the life and work of 
Jesus. Before we follow his history further, 
let us turn to a consideration of his chief teach- 
ings. The outlines of five of his great dis- 
courses have been preserved to us in the gos- 
pels. Matthew has woven them all into one, 
viz., the so-called ''Sermon on the Mount," 
but in the gospel of Luke they are still found 
mostly in their original setting. Let us briefly 
consider each discourse by itself. 



(a) The Sermon on the Mount, 
Lk. 6:20-49 = Mt. 5: 1-12, 38-48; 7- i-5, 12, 15-27. 

In this discourse Jesus sets forth the Chris- 
tian character-ideal. He begins with a golden 
chain of beatitudes : 



*Harmonists commonly place here the Call of the Twelve, 
Mk. 3: 13-19. Compare § 12a. 

51 



52 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §9 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, 

For theirs is the kingdom of God. 
Blessed are the contrite of heart. 

For they shall be comforted. 
Blessed are the meek and lowly, 

For they shall inherit great reward. 
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteous- 
ness, 

For they shall be filled. 
Blessed are they that are compassionate, 

For they shall receive compassion. 
Blessed are the pure of soul, 

For they shall see God. 
Blessed are the friendly and peace-loving, 

For they shall be called sons of God. 

Then he continues with an exposition of the 
truly Christian character is expressing itself 
in love and good-will towards all men: 

"Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time 
"Eye for eye and tooth for tooth," but I say unto you, 
Resist not him that doeth thee evil. To him that 
smiteth thee upon the right cheek, turn the other also. 
If any man would go to law with thee and take away 
thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. If thou art im- 
pressed for one mile, go two. Give to him that asketh 
thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not 
thou away. And as ye would that men should do unto 
you, do ye also to them likewise/' 

"Do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse 
you, pray for them that revile you and love your 
enemies that ye may be sons of your Father in heaven, 
for he is kind toward the thankless and sinful. He 
maketh his sun to rise upon the evil and the good and 
sendeth rain upon the righteous and unrighteous. For 
if ye love them that love you, what excellence is it, do 



§9 TEACHINGS OP JESUS. 53 

not publicans also do the same? And if ye wish well 
to your brethren only, what do ye more than others, do 
not even Gentiles the same? Be ye therefore perfect as 
your Father in heaven is perfect." 

''Condemn not that ye be not condemned, for with 
what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with 
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.'* 

"And why dost thou spy out a mote in thy brother's 
eye, but considerest not the beam in thine own eye? 
Or how sayest thou to thy brother, "Let me cast out 
the mote out of thine eye!" and behold a beam is in 
thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam 
out of thine own eye and then thou shalt not be tempted 
to judge thy brother." 

The discourse closes with a solemn warning 
against confidence in mere profession: 

"The tree is known by its fruit, of thorns men do not 
seek figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 
The good man out of the good treasure of his heart 
bringeth forth that which is good, but the evil man out 
of his evil heart bringeth forth that which is evil." 

"Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, 
and doeth them, is like unto a wise man, who built his 
house upon the rock: and the rain descended and the 
floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that 
house and it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. 
And every one that heareth these words of mine and 
doeth them not, is like unto a foolish man, who built 
his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, the 
floods came, the winds blew and smote upon that house, 
and it fell — and great was the fall thereof." 

This is the most remarkable discourse in all 
literature. Many beautiful stories of love and 
wifely devotion have been told in all ages, but 



54 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §9 

they reach not to a love that includes the enemy. 
The doctrine of good-will, of an open heart to 
all men, even for those who seek to do us in- 
jury, is that which exalts Christianity above 
every other name. However, it goes consider- 
ably against the grain of human nature to be 
willing to acknowledge this as our duty. It is 
out of the question, of course, for us to feel 
that agreeable sensation which the friendly atti- 
tude of others produces in us. But that is 
their virtue, not ours. Neither must we emas- 
culate the words of Jesus by arguing that they 
interfere with the duty of self-defence. This 
teaching is not an immoral doctrine, but a shaft 
aimed at the evil of hatred and lust of retalia- 
tion in our heart. Under insult our forbear- 
ance is the only thing that can increase the total 
sum of good in the world. If a fellowman in- 
sists on being our enemy, that should not drag 
us down into becoming his. If he will be evil, 
we may still show him, that nevertheless our 
heart remains open to him and desires fellow- 
ship with the good that he is burying in his 
soul. 

Sometimes the charge of weakness and fem- 
ininity is brought against this doctrine of Jesus. 
It is claimed that it unduly emphasizes the 
merely passive virtues of submission. But 
Jesus did not at all preach cowardly submis- 



§9 TEACHINGS OP JESUS. 55 

sion to the inevitable. He taught its conquest, 
but by way of a higher manhood. His words 
are to be taken without any paring down. 
They demand more of us than, womanhke, to 
meet our enemy with a smile, while keeping the 
gall and bitterness in the heart. Merely to do, 
or to wish, our enemy no harm is not even 
the beginning of Christianity. — Anybody can 
seek revenge, anybody can strike back when he 
is struck. But it takes a rare self mastery to 
turn the other cheek. The real hero is not the 
bully, but the man who can control his bad 
blood. It is not easy to follow Jesus, but they 
who are not able to go with him are ''lights in 
the world and the salt of the earth." (Mt. 
5:13-16). 

The Good Samaritan, 

The doctrine of the Sermon on the Mount is 
very beautifully illustrated in a parable of Jesus 
(Lk. ip : 25-37) • It is such a gem that I must 
quote it in full. A scribe had asked him 
what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus 
said to him, ''What is written in the law, how 
readest thou?'' He answered, "Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and 
thy neighbor as thyself.'' "Thou hast an 
swered right," Jesus replied, "this do and thou 
shalt live." But he, desiring to justify him- 



56 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §9 

self said, ''And who is my neighbor?" Jesus 
made answer and said : ''A certain man was 
going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell 
among robbers. They stripped him and beat 
him and departed, leaving him half dead. 
Now by chance a certain priest was going down 
that way, and when he saw him, passed by on 
the other side. In like manner a Levite also, 
w^hen he came to the place, and saw him, passed 
by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, 
as he journeyed, came where he was, and when 
he saw him, was moved with compassion, and 
came to him and bound up his wounds, pouring 
on them oil and wine. Then he set him upon 
his own beast, brought him to an inn and took 
care of him. On the morrow he took out two 
shillings, gave them to the host and said, ''Take 
care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest 
more, I, when I come back, will repay thee.' 
Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved 
neighbor unto him that fell among the rob- 
bers?" The scribe answered, "He that showed 
him mercy." And Jesus said unto him, ''Go, 
and do thou likewise T 



§9 TEACHINGS OF JESUS. 57 



THE FIVE GREAT DISCOURSES. 

(b) Sincerity in our Moral Life. (InsuMciency of 
Pharisaic Righteousness.) Mt. 5:20-37. 

In the second great discourse Jesus exhibits 
the insufficiency of Pharisaic righteousness. 
He shows that real goodness does not consist 
in the most painfully literal observance of the 
law of Moses, as the scribes taught, nor even 
in correct external conduct, but that everything 
depends on the underlying motive of the heart. 
He commenced his sermon by saying to his 
disciples : 

"Except your righteousness shall exceed the right- 
eousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no 
wise enter into the kingdom of God," 

Then he gives a number of illustrative ex- 
amples, of which I quote only one: 

"Ye have heard that it was said, 'Thou shalt not 
"kill; and whosoever killeth shall be in danger of the 
judgment:' but I say unto you, that every one who is 
angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judg- 
ment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, 'Thou 
Empty-head,' shall be in danger of the council. And 
whosoever shall say, 'Thou godless fool,' shall be in 
danger of the hell of fire." 

And further he points out that before God 



58 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §9 

a dean heart is valued far above religious de- 
votion : 

"li therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, 
and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught 
against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and 
go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then 
come and offer thy gift." 

It is easier to perform religious duties punc- 
tually and acquire saintship by offering pray- 
ers and sacrifices than to go and seek reconcilia- 
tion with those v^hom we have offended. 



§9 TEACHINGS OP JESUS. 59 



THE FIVE GREAT DISCOURSES. 

(c) On the Inwardness of True Religion. 
Mt. 6: 1-8, 16-18. 

Jesus' third great discourse is on the inward- 
ness of true rehgion. A man's relation to his 
God is a sacred thing. It is not to be made a 
show of before the world. 

*'Take heed," Jesus said, "that ye do not your right- 
eousness before men, to be seen of them : else ye have 
no reward with your Father in heaven." 

"When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet 
before thee as the hypocrites do. But when thou doest 
alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand 
doeth; that thine alms may be in secret. And thy 
Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee. 

"And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites : 
for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and 
in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of 
men. Verily, I say unto you, they have received their 
reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine 
inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy 
Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in 
secret shall recompense thee. 

"And in praying do not use vain repetitions, as the 
Gentiles do, for they think they shall be heard for their 
much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them : for 
your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, be- 
fore ye ask him." 



60 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §9 

THE FIVE GREAT DISCOURSES. 

{d) Prayer and the Life of Fellozuship with God. 

Mt. 6:9-13; 7:7-ii = Lk. 11:1-13. 

This leads us directly to the next discourse 
which is on prayer and the Hfe of fellowship 
with God. ''After this manner therefore pray 
ye: 

Our Father, who art in heaven, 

Hallowed be thy name. 

Thy kingdom come. 

Thy will be done, 

As in heaven, so on earth. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our debts, 

As we also have forgiven our debtors. 

And bring us not into temptation, 

But deliver us from evil." 

Such praying shall not fail of God's re- 
sponse : 

"Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall 
find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every 
one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; 
and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what 
man is there of you, who, if his child shall ask him 
for a loaf, will give him a stone; or if he shall ask 
for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being 
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give 



§9 TEACHINGS OP JBSUS. 61 

the good to them that ask him?" (Compare Mk. 
II : 22-25.) 

It is not the multitude of words that brings 
the answer to prayer. It is not gifts that 
are its blessing; ''prayer is the spirit speaking 
truth to Truth/' Fellowship with the Father 
of our spirits is its end and great reward. 



62 JESUS OF NAZARETH, §9 

THE FIVE GREAT DISCOURSES. 

(e) Trust in God and the True Goal of Life.^ 

Mt. 6 : 19-34 = Lk/ 12 : 13-34- 

The fifth and last of the great discourses 
of Jesus has a charm all its own. It sets forth 
deliverance from daily anxiety by a life of child- 
like confidence in the providence of God, teach- 
ing us the high purpose of our existence, that 
not to eat and drink and dress, but for the 
kingdom of God we were born. 

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, 
Where moth and rust consume; 
Where thieves break through and steal : 
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 
Where moth and rust doth not consume, 
And where thieves do not break through and steal. 
FOR WHERE THY TREASURE IS, 
THERE WILL THY HEART BE ALSO. 

No man can serve two masters. 

Either he will hate the one 

And love the other; 

Or else he will hold to one 

And despise the other. 

YE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON." 

* * jK 

Therefore I say unto you : 
"Be not anxious for your life, 



*Comp. The Parable of the Rich Fool. I,k. 12: 13-21. 



§9 TEACHINGS OF JESUS. 63 

What ye shall eat, 

Or what ye shall drink; 

Nor yet for your body, 

What ye shall put on. 

IS NOT THE LIFE MORE THAN THE FOOD, 

AND THE BODY MORE THAN RAIMENT?" 

Consider the ravens, 
That they sow not, 
Neither do they reap, 
Nor gather into barns 
And your heavenly Father feedeth them: 
OF HOW MUCH MORE VALUE ARE YE THAN 
THE BIRDS !" 

And who of you by being anxious can add 
one cubit unto the measure of his Hfe? And 
why are ye anxious concerning raiment ? 

Consider the lilies of the field. 

How they grow. 

They toil not, 

Neither do they spin : 

Yet I say unto you 

That even Solomon in all his glory 

Was not arrayed like one of these. 

But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, 

Which to-day is 

And to-morrow is cast into the oven : 

SHALL HE NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU, 

O YE OF LITTLE FAITH? 

Be not therefore anxious, saying. 

What shall we eat, 

Or, what shall we drink. 

Or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? 

After all these things do the Gentiles seek, 



64 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §9 

BUT SEEK YE FIRST HIS KINGDOM 
AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, 
AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED 
UNTO YOU. 

You say, that is beautiful, — for the rich, who 
know nothing of hard times, but for us who eat 
our bread in the sweat of our brow it is differ- 
ent. All that I can answer, is, that this was 
not spoken by one rolling in wealth. They 
are the words of a carpenter who, by the labor 
of his hands had toiled for his living and that 
of those dependent upon him, before he began 
to preach. He knew whereof he spoke. It is 
not a blessing to be poor, but Jesus has shown 
us how trust in God can take the sting out of 
honest poverty; and how, by seeking heav- 
enly treasure with an undivided heart, even the 
poorest of the poor may have a fulness and 
satisfaction of life, for which they that trust 
in riches, strive in vain. 



§ 9 TEACHINGS OP JESUS. 65 



THE FIVE GREAT DISCOURSES. 

(/) Discipleship Exacting. 

These five discourses contain all the funda- 
mental elements of Jesus' teachings. Under- 
lying them is the deep and firm conviction that 
the controlling principle of the universe, the 
great ALL-FATHER, is our father and God : 
the fountainhead of our spiritual life to whom 
we are akin in our better nature. Each dis- 
course shows a different facet of the jewel 
which the Christian life by the grace of God 
through Jesus Christ may be. 

True religion, then, according to the great 
teacher from Nazareth, consists of these five 
things : 

1. Love and good-will toward our fellow- 
men. 

2. Integrity in our moral life. 

3. Sincerity in our religion. 

4. Fellowship with the living God. 

5. The kingdom of the noble and the true, 
the master passion of our soul. 

This is not an easy creed to subscribe unto, 
but it is a confession of faith eminently worthy 
of God and man. 

*Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth 



66 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §9 

to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. 
But narrow is the gate and straitened the way that lead- 
eth unto life, and few are they that find it." (Mt. 
7:13, 14.) 

Jesus never aimed at numbers. He dis- 
couraged more than he invited to follow him. 
A certain man said unto him, ''I will follow 
thee whithersoever thou goest.'' Jesus said to 
him, ^^The foxes have holes, and the birds of 
heaven have nests; but the son of man hath 
not where to lay his head.'' Another said to 
him, **I will follow thee, but suffer me first to 
go and bury my father.'' But Jesus replied, 
'Xeave the dead to bury their own dead; but 
go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of 
God." And still another said, ''I will follow 
thee. Lord, but first suffer me to bid farewell 
to them that are at my house." To him Jesus 
said, "No man, having put his hand to the 
plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom 
of God." (Lk. 9: 57-62; = Mt. 8: 19-22). 

To all half-hearted disciples Jesus unhesitat- 
ingly applied the sifting-process. He warned 
all cowards to stay at home. ''For which of 
you," he cautioned them, " desiring to build a 
tower, doth not first sit down and count the 
cost, whether he have wherewith to complete 
it. Lest haply when he hath laid a founda- 
tion, and is not able to finish, all that behold 



§9 TEACHINGS OF JESUS, 67 

begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began 
to build, but he could not finish.' Or what 
king, as he goeth forth to encounter another 
king in war, will not sit down first and take 
counsel whether he is able with ten thousand 
to meet him that cometh against him with 
twenty thousand. So therefore whosoever he 
be of you that doth not bear his own cross and 
renounceth all that he hath to come after me, 
cannot be my disciple (Lk. 14:25-35). 

Young man, are you burning with passion to 
do brave deeds, here is the captain to lead you 
into the battle royal. 



THB GALILEAN MINISTRY. 

{Continued,) 



69 



§ 10, The Paith of the Centurion, 

Mt. 8:5-i3 = Lk. 7: i-io; 13:28-30. (John 4:46-54.) 

It was not only to the Jews that the gospel 
was preached at Capernaum, for we read of a 
heathen who came to Jesus there. A garrison, 
probably of Herod Antipas, seems to have 
been lodged at Capernaum. Its commander, 
the centurion, was a Gentile and he had a sick 
servant. He had heard of the cures of Jesus 
and came to him, entreating him, 'Xord, my 
servant lieth in the house, sick of paralysis, 
grievously tormented.'' Jesus answered, ^*I 
will come and heal him.'' But the centurion 
said, 'Xord, I am not worthy that thou should- 
est come under my roof ; speak the word only, 
and my servant shall be healed. For I myself 
am a man under authority, having soldiers un- 
der my command ; and I say to one, 'Go,' and 
he goeth ; and to another, 'Come,' and he Com- 
eth ; and to my servant, 'Do this, and he doeth 
it.' " When Jesus heard this he marveled, and 
said to them that followed, "Verily I say unto 
you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in 
Isreal. And I say unto you that many shall 
come from the east and the west and shall 

71 



ii JBSUS OP NAZARETH. I 10 

sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Ja- 
cob, in the kingdom of God ; but the sons of 
the kingdom (i. e. the Jews) shall be cast out 
into the outer darkness ; there shall be weeping 
and the gnashing of teeth.'' And Jesus said 
unto the centurion, ''Go thy way; as thou hast 
believed so be it done to thee." And his ser- 
vant was healed. 

So it seems that from the beginning the gos- 
pel found a more ready acceptance from Gen- 
tiles than it ever received from Jews. The gos- 
pel of Jesus was one of universal brotherhood, 
it was something more than a mere patfch upon 
an old garment, it could not be confined by the 
old wine-skins of Jewish exclusiveness. It was 
a new life, bursting race-hatred and leveling 
class-distinctions, proclaiming that all nations, 
yea, all the children of men, are God's chosen 
people. Here in Capernaum, the earliest scene 
of Jesus' ministry, Christianity began its world- 
wide conquest of heathenism that shall continue 
until Christ become the light of ail nations. 



§11 RECHPTION OP JESUS. 1% 



§ II. Reception of Jesus and His Message. 

(a) The Messengers from John the Baptist. 
Mt. ii:2-i9 = Lk. 7:18-28, 31-35; 16:16. 

We naturally ask, Was Jesus' Capernaum 
ministry successful? We are more interested 
in the torrent that comes tearing down the 
mountain side than in the deep and silently 
flowing river. We worship a dazzling flash- 
light-success and judge a thing by the noise 
it makes oftener than by its abiding value. 
Well, w^as Jesus' ministry a success? It was, 
for the crowds ran after him. But Jesus was 
deeply disappointed in them. He had not 
courted their curiosity, nor sought their ap- 
plause. He wanted to save their souls, but they 
responded not to the spirituality of his message. 

The fact was, the people were considerably 
perplexed who this young teacher really was. 
Even John the Baptist was by no means clear 
in his mind. Therefore he sent from his prison 
two messengers to elicit from Jesus himself a 
definite answer. They asked him, ''Art thou he 
that cometh, or wait we for another?" Jesus 
did not answer directly, but said: ''Go tell 
John the things which ye hear and see : Blind 



74 JESUS OF NAZARETH, §11 

(hearts) receive their sight, the lame walk, 
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, those dead 
(in spirit) rise to life and the poor have good 
tidings preached to them. Blessed is he who 
shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. I 
am Messiah, nay more, the Anointed of God, 
but not the earthly king of Israel's fleshly 
hope." 

Jesus revered John, and when his messengers 
had left, he paid him the highest tribute any 
man ever received. He said to the multitudes, 
''What went ye out into the wilderness to see, 
a reed shaken by the wind ? But what went ye 
out to see, a man clothed in soft raiment ? Be- 
hold, they that wear soft raiment are in king's 
houses. But wherefore went ye out to see, 
a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much 
more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is 
written : 

'Behold I send my messenger before thy face 
Who shall prepare thy way before thee.' 

Verily, I say unto you, among them that are 
born of women, there hath not arisen a greater 
than John the Baptist. — Yet he that is but little 
in the kingdom of God is greater than he." 



§ 11 RECEPTION OF JESUS. 75 

(b) The Spiritual Apathy of the Multitudes. 
Mt. II : 16-24; Lk. 10: 13-15. 

But the multitudes found fault with both 
the herald and the preacher of the kingdom of 
God. Neither Jesus nor John pleased them. 
Of John they said, ''He is too religious/' of 
Jesus, ''He is not religious at all.'' This apathy 
toward things spiritual provoked Jesus to say, 
"Whereunto shall I liken this generation? It 
is like unto children sitting in the marketplace, 
who call unto their fellows and say, 'We piped 
unto you and ye did not dance ; we wailed and 
ye did not mourn.' For John came neither eat- 
ing nor drinking, and they say, 'He hath a 
demon.' The son of man came eating and 
drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous 
man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans 
and sinners !" 

Then began he to upraid the cities wherein 
most of his mighty works were done. "Woe 
unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto the Bethsaida! 
And thou, Capernaum! shalt thou be exalted 
unto heaven ? Thou shalt go down unto Hades ; 
for if the mighty works had been done in 
Sodom, which were done in thee, it would have 
remained until this day." 



^6 JESUS OF NAZARBTH §11 



(c) The Beelzehuh Calumny and Request for Signs. 

Mk. 3:20-30; Mt. 9:32-34; 12: 22-45 = Lk. 11:14-32; 
12: 10. 

Jesus not only met unresponsiveness from the 
multitude, he also suffered persecution from 
his enemies, the scribes and Pharisees. His 
miracles and compassionate cures of the sick 
they could not deny, but they found an evil ex- 
planation for them. They said, ''He casts out 
demons?" ''O yes." ''But it is Beelzebub 
himself ordering the lesser demons about." 
Thus their bigotry interpreted his works. This 
was nothing less than to call good evil ; a mali- 
cious perjurying of truth's own witness. There- 
fore Jesus charged them with committing an 
unpardonable sin and uttering blasphemy 
against the holy Spirit. 

For his teachings the scribes had no ear, by a 
wicked misinterpretation they had gotten rid of 
his cures and now triumphantly they come to 
him, saying: "If you are somebody, show us 
a miracle from heaven." But hearts untouched 
by the Sermon on the Mount are not worth 
converting by miracles. Light is of no use to 
him whose eye is evil (Mt. 6:22, 23 = Lk. 
II • 33-36). Jesus only strove to be a teacher 
of truth, not a miracle monger. He answered 



§ 11 RBCBPTION OF JESUS, 77 

his opponents, ''An evil and adulterous genera- 
tion seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no 
sign given it but the sign of Jonah. The men 
of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with 
this generation, and shall condemn it : for they 
repented at the preaching of Jonah; and be- 
hold, a greater than Jonah is here. The fartd 
of the south shall rise up in the judgment with 
this generation, and condemn it : for she came 
from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom 
of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solo- 
mon is here/' 



(d) Jesus' Unbelieving Kinsfolk. 
Mk. 3:21, 31-35. 

In spite of the great outward following of 
Jesus, the number of his real disciples must 
have been small, for even his friends and kins- 
folk did not believe in him. They thought him 
beside himself. However, the few followers 
he had were the closer friends. There is a 
spiritual kinship which is higher than the natu- 
ral. A community of inner experience binds 
men closer than the ties of blood. When Jesus 
at one time was told that his mother and breth- 
ren, standing without, desired to see him, he 
said, ''Who is my mother and my brethren?'' 



78 JESUS OP NAZARETH. § 11 

Then pointing to his disciples, he said, ''Be- 
hold my true kinsfolk! For whosoever shall 
do the will of God, the same is my brother and 
sister.'' 



(e) The Parables of the Kingdom.'^ 
Mk. 4:1-34. 

It is in the light of such experiences that we 
must understand many of Jesus' parables. 
Standing by the sea of Galilee he spoke of 
the reception his work had received in these 
words : ''Behold, the sower went forth to sow, 
and it came to pass as he sowed, some seed fell 
by the wayside, and the birds came and de- 
voured it. And other fell on the rocky 
ground, where it had not much earth; and 
straightway it sprang up, because it had no 
deepness of earth, and when the sun was risen 
it was scorched, and because it had no root, it 
withered away. And other fell among thorns, 
and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it 
yielded no fruit. And other fell into the good 
ground, and yielded fruit, some more, some 
less.'' It was Jesus' lot, like every one else's, 
who works for the betterment of humanity, to 



* Cq,mpare here also the Parable of the Seed Growing Secretly, 
Mk. 4:26-29; the Parable of the Tares, Mt. 13:24-30, and the 
Parable of the Drag-net, Mt. 13:47-50. 



§ 11 RECEPTION OF JESUS. 79 

meet the unreceptive, the fickle and the people 
of divided hearts. 

The work of building up the kingdom of 
God is full of discouragements. It is like dig- 
ging gold : for the sake of a few grains of 
precious metal, you must shovel tons of sand. 
But in spite of disappointment Jesus' faith did 
not waver. He saw that his work was small 
in the beginning, but he knew that by reason 
of its inherent vitality it would conquer in the 
end. ''It is like unto a grain of mustard seed," 
he comforted himself, 'Svhich a man took and 
sowed in his field ; which indeed is less than all 
the seeds, but when it is grown, it is greater 
than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the 
birds of heaven come and lodge in the branches 
thereof. The kingdom I build is like a bit of 
leaven, though a woman hide it in three meas- 
ures of meal, it will yet leaven the whole mass." 

If the kingdom of God was not bulky, it was 
nevertheless precious, as a ''treasure hid in the 
field, which a man found and hid and in his 
joy goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buy- 
eth that field." Or, as "a merchant seeking 
goodly pearls, who having found one pearl of 
great price, went and sold all that he had, and 
bought it." (Mt. 13:44-46). 



80 JBSUS OF NAZARETH. §12 



§ 12, Evangelizing Galilee. 

(a)Miracles in Galilee. Mk. 4-35-5 •43- (I^k. 7:11-17). 
It seems that Jesus felt any further work in 
and around Capernaum would be useless, so he 
went with the Twelve whom he had selected 
from his wider following for deeper instruc- 
tion in the mysteries of the kingdom of God 
(Mk. 3:13-19; 4:11, on an evangelizing tour 
through Galilee. In these journeys quite a 
number of miracles occurred, but we have not 
time to relate them in detail. Among others 
there was the stilling of the storm on the sea of 
Galilee and the healing of a demoniac in the 
country of the Gerasenes. Since this was at- 
tended by the drowning of a number of swine, 
Jesus was requested to leave the country. After 
returning to the Capernaum side of the lake 
he was met by Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, 
whose daughter was at the point of death. He 
entreated Jesus to come and heal her. A delay 
was caused by a woman in the crowd, having 
an issue of blood, who contrived to touch Jesus' 
garments and was cured. In the meantime 
Jairus received a message that his daughter 
had died. Jesus, nevertheless, encouraged him, 



§ 12 EVANGELIZING GALILEE. 81 

went with him to the house and the little girl 
was restored to life.'*' 



{h) Rejected at Nazareth. Mk. 6: i-6; (Lk. 4: 16-30). 

At this time Jesus also came to Nazareth, 
his native village, and preached to his towns- 
men in the synagogue. Though admiring him 
at first, they soon became offended at his words 
and drove him out. 



{c) The Twelve Sent Out. Mk. 6: 6-13. 

In spite of these set-backs the fame of Jesus 
still increased. He did not only preach him- 
self, but also sent his disciples, two by two, on 
a preaching tour. They were not to go in royal 
style, but as simple messengers, neither wear- 
ing two coats, nor their pockets filled with gold 
and silver. Their mission was to preach that 
men should repent and incidentally they 
anointed the sick with oil and cast out demons. 

If Jesus met with much discouragement in 
his work, we must not forget that it also had 
its joys. It is a beneficient constitution of our 
nature that one hour of joy can blot out years 
of sorrow. Our most satisfying emotions come 

* Compare the Raising of the Widow's Son at Nain. I^k. 7:11-17. 
F 



82 JESUS OF NAZARETH. § 12 

to us through rehgion. Jesus experienced them 
to the full. You remember how his baptismal 
experience had lifted his soul above the earth. 
Ivikewise when he found a lonely woman by 
the well of Samaria who opened her heart to 
him and went away a better person, it so filled 
him with joy that he could not eat the meal 
his disciples had prepared for him and he had 
to tell them, '^My meat is to do the will of him 
that sent me and to accomplish his work." 
(John 4:34). It was in such an hour of re- 
ligious exaltation that he spoke the sweetest 
words that fell from his lips : 

'^Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
And I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me : 

For I am meek and lowly in heart; 
And ye shall find rest unto your souls, 

For my yoke is easy and my burden is delight." 
(Mt. 11:28-30. Compare Lk. 10:17-20). 



§13 THB TURNING POINT. 83 



§ 7j. The Turning Point. Jesus' Loss of 
Popular Favor,^ The Northern Jour- 
neys. 

Jesus was now at the height of his popu- 
larity, and yet the turning point had come. 
The multitude cared not for his spiritual king- 
dom and he cared not for their enthusiasm 
over a politically restored Israel. So the parting 
of the ways was inevitable. When the people 
saw clearly that he had no inclination to meet 
their wishes, they began to murmur. They 
forsook him and perhaps began to listen to the 
scribes and Pharisees. At this point the gos- 
pels leave us considerably in the dark as to 
the actual course of events. We see that Jesus 
gives up his public work, leaves the scenes of 
his former labors, withdraws to Gentile terri- 
tory in the North and remains in hiding. He 
devotes his time to the instruction of his disci- 
ples and seems to have come to an altogether 
different view of the outcome of his own work. 
Whether, then, this withdrawal to the North 



* We pass over here without comment the following gospel- 
narratives : 

1. The Discourse against the Fear of Men. Mt. lo: 24-39== 
I,k. 12: 1-12, 49-53* 

2. The Account of the Death of John the Baptist. Mk. 6: 14-29. 

3. The Feeding of the Five Thousand. Mk. 6: 31-44. 

4. The Walking on the Sea. Mk. 6:45-52. 

5. The Feeding of the Four Thousand. Mk. 8: 1-21. 

6. The Discourse on the Bread of I^ife. John 6: 1-71. 



84 JESUS OF NAZARETH, §14 

was due to persecution, or because he had to 
fight out a new battle in his inner Hfe, or both, 
we do not precisely know. 



§ 14, The Syrophenician Woman. 

Mk. 7 : 24-30. 

However, he did not altogether succeed in 
hiding himself. After he had crossed the border 
line from Galilee into the region of Tyre and 
Sidon, a Syrophenician woman heard of him. 
We do not know whether she was rich or poor, 
but there was a great sorrow in her life — she 
had an afflicted daughter. And what will not 
a mother do in such a plight. She was a 
Gentile, and well she knew Jewish pride and 
haughtiness. The Jews divided the world 
into the seed of Abraham and sinners 
of the Gentiles, whom they called dogs. 
But this mother thought not of the re- 
buke she was sure to meet from a Jewish 
scribe. She had come, if need be, to melt a 
heart of stone with her entreaty. She fell 
down before Jesus, and begged him to cast the 
demon out of her daughter. But Jesus acted 
strangely. He seemed to turn a deaf ear to 
this mother's request. He answered her in the 
orthodox fashion as rabban Shammai would 



§ 14 SYROPHENICIAN WOMAN. 85 

have answered her. 'Xet the children first be 
filled, for it is not meet to take the children's 
bread and cast it to the dogs." But love 
quickened the mother's reasoning powers: 
she turned the grounds of his refusal into an 
argument for her cause. ^'True Lord," she 
said, "but even the dogs under the table eat of 
the children's crumbs." Jesus had no inten- 
tion of torturing the pleading woman, but he 
allowed himself the luxury of witnessing how 
a mother's love surmounts all obstacles and 
turns defeat into victory. So he answered 
her, "O woman, great is thy faith; be it done 
unto thee even as thou wilt." 



86 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §15 



§ 15, Journey to Caesarea Philippi Conflict 
with the Jewish Messianic Ideal. 

Mk. 8 : 27-9 : i. 

Jesus pushed this journey as far as Sidon, 
but we have no particulars. Then he seems 
to have crossed the river Leontes and returned 
through DecapoHs to the sea of Galilee. Here 
he healed a deaf-mute (Mk. 7: 31-37) and at 
Bethsaida a blind man (Mk. 8:22-26). An- 
other collision with the Pharisees occurred 
(Mk. 8:11-21), whereupon he went North 
again, but this time into the region of Caesarea 
Philippi. Here we get a glimpse once more 
of his inner life. He asked his disciples what 
the people were saying concerning him. They 
told him, "Some say, 'John the Baptist' ; others, 
'Elijah,' others, 'One of the prophets.' " Then 
he asked them, "But who do you say that I 
am?" Peter, as spokesman of the rest, an- 
swered: "Thou art the Christ." It is im- 
portant, however, for us to remember that the 
Jews did not think of Christ as we do. We 
think of him as the savior of the world, but 
they knew only of the One who should sit upon 
the throne of David and make the Jews the 
ruling nation of the world. The Jewish people 



§ ISJOURNEY TO C^SAREA PHIUPPI.87 

in general had not thought of Jesus as the 
Christ. How could they, since he gathered no 
army and did not miraculously drive out the 
Romans? It is doubtful that even the disci- 
ples had definitely thought of him as the Christ 
much before this time. Jesus certainly did not 
mean to be the kind of Christ which they 
wished him to be. He was interested in the 
kingdom of love and truth, not in temporal 
power. This kingdom, he had come to real- 
ize by his past experiences, would not come in 
a day, for people were not as enthusiastic about 
changing their hearts as holding offices in Mes- 
siah's kingdom. He realized that he would 
not see the full establishment of the kingdom 
of God upon earth. And more, he began 
to feel, that if he were to remain true to his 
mission it would end in death. He knew the 
temper of the Pharisees, and that the elders 
of his people had already rejected him. 

If he nevertheless continued his work, the 
conflict could only terminate in his martyrdom. 
He had come to the crisis. How shall he de- 
cide ? Continue and die, or cease his work and 
by cowardly silence purchase his life ? He was 
not a coward, he held truth dearer than life 
and so he determined to conquer by dying. 
The path of duty and obedience to the will 
of God was clear, but it opened into the 



88 JBSUS OF NAZARETH. § 15 

jaws of death. He might have had an hon- 
ored name among his people, Hke Hillel or 
GamaHel, if he had accepted Pharisaism. He 
might have been the pet of popular enthusiasm, 
had he befriended Jewish. Messianism. But 
for the sake of being true, he closed, with his 
own hands, this double door of success, accept- 
ing defeat and the cross. This is the hardest 
testing that can come to a man, but Jesus did 
not flinch. 

Yet we must not suppose that he was unsus- 
ceptible to the temptation. Peter urged him to 
stay away from Jerusalem, and avoid the catas- 
trophe (Mk. 8:32). That certainly seemed 
the part of wisdom, but what would all his 
teachings have been worth, had he failed here ? 
We would have cried, "True words, admirable 
doctrines T' But then, we know our duties well 
enough and can get along without the moral- 
ists who feel themselves called to preach us the 
truth, though we are all damned. We need 
some sympathetic heart to show us how to live 
the truth. It is the charm of Jesus' doctrines 
that he practiced them first and then preached 
them. 

Peter's suggestion was a perfectly legitimate 
one, for self-preservation is the ordinary law of 
life, but it is not its highest law. Jesus lived 
not for himself, and when that which is good 



§16 THE TRANSFIGURATION. 89 

hinders a higher good, it becomes evil, there- 
fore, ''Get thee behind me, Satan, for thou 
mindest not the things of God, but the things 
of men/' (Mk. 8:33). From this time on 
Jesus plainly taught his disciples the unworld- 
liness of his kingdom, "li any man would 
come after me," he said, ''let him deny himself, 
and take up his cross and follow me. For 
whosoever would save his life shall lose it ; and 
whosoever shall lose his life shall save it." 
Strange teaching — ^to save one's life by losing 
it ! And yet no truer words were ever uttered, 
for he that loseth his life in the labor of love 
for his fellow-men, truly findeth it. Acts of 
kindness, deeds of love, a mother's sacrifice for 
her babe, a life in which unselfishness reigns 
supreme, these give an unfailing supply of 
peace of soul and happiness of heart, beside 
which the gain of the whole world is as 
nothing. 



§ 16. The Transfiguration. 

Mk. 9:2-8. 

Still, of ourselves we are not sufficient for 
these things. Our spirits are still in bondage 
to the flesh. A few days after this Jesus with 
three of his most intimate disciples ascended a 



90 JBSUS OF NAZARETH. §16 

mountain that he might in prayer to God find 
heaven's help to carry out his resolution. And 
a blessed experience, beyond literal description, 
was vouchsafed to his there ; since a prayer for 
help to do our duty never remains unanswered. 
The gospels give us Jesus' mountain-experi- 
ence clothed in oriental figure, which we can 
no longer fully unravel. But this is certain, 
he was there transfigured, and found strength 
to face his coming ordeal, and go unwavering 
to Jerusalem to his death. 



§17 LAST DAYS IN GALILEE. 91 



§ 77. The Last Days in Galilee,"^ f 

Mk. 9 : 9-50. 

What a difference there is now between 
Jesus and his disciples. They are dreaming of 
wearing crowns and sitting on thrones, but he 
is going to the cross. At the foot of the moun- 
tain he healed an epileptic boy (Mk. 9:14-29), 
then he returned to Galilee (Mk. 9:30), but 
not to preach again. He spent but few da3^s 
there, which he devoted to further instruction 
of his disciples. They were still sadly in need 
of it. Since they had placed their messianic 
hopes in Jesus, their h-earts were filled with vis- 
ions of earthly glory and they began to dispute 
(who should be the greatest among them. 
(Mk. 9:33-37). After all their association 
with Jesus they had not yet learned the true 
kingdom's first law, which readeth, ''If any 
man would be first, he shall be last and servant 
of all" (Mk. 9:35). 

Not only were the disciples self -conceited 
and vainglorious, they were also narrow- 



^ The gospel of John records here several journeys of Jesus to 
Jerusalem, viz., to the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of 
Dedication. The student should read the gospel of John here 
in the following order: John 7:1-14, 25-36, 45-52; 7:37-44; 
8:21-59; 9:1-41; 10:19-21; 8:12-20; 10:22-29; 10:1-18, 30-42. 

t Consult also Mt. 17: 24-27 for an account of how Jesus paid 
his temple-tax. 



92 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §17 

minded. John and some others had met a man 
casting out demons in Jesus' name. Full of 
indignation they forbade him because he fol- 
lowed not after them. But Jesus thought very 
differently about it. He said, ''Forbid him 
not, for there is no man who shall do a mighty 
work in my name, and be able quickly to speak 
evil of me. He that is not against us, is for 
us.'' (Mk. 9:38-40). Magnanimity is a much 
unpracticed Christian virtue. The evil spirits 
of pride and jealousy, vanity and narrow- 
mindedness, choke this precious tender plant. 
But cast out the evil brood, even if it has grown 
as close to our flesh as hand or eye. ''If thy 
hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off. And if 
thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off. And 
if thine eye cause thee to stumble, pluck it out. 
It is good for thee to enter into the kingdom 
of God with one eye, rather than having two 
eyes and be cast into hell." (Mk. 9 : 43-50). 



§ 18 DUTY OF FORGIVING. 93 



§ i8. The Duty of Forgiving. 

Mk. 9 : 42 ; Mt. 18 : 7-35 = Lk. 17 : 1-4. 

Instead of forever having an eye to our own 
interests, we should the rather be careful to do 
no harm to our neighbor. ''Woe to him 
through whom occasions of stumbling come, 
it were well for him if a millstone were hanged 
about his neck and he were thrown into the 
sea, rather than that he should cause one of 
these little ones to stumble." 

Then came Peter and said unto him, ^Xord, 
how oft shall my brother sin against me, and 
I forgive him — until seven times?'' Jesus 
saith unto him, '1 say not unto thee. Until 
seven times ; but. Until seventy times seven. 
There was a certain king who would make a 
reckoning with his servants. And when he 
had begun to reckon, one was brought unto 
him, that owed him ten thousand talents. But 
forasmuch as he had not wherewith to pay, 
his lord commanded him to be sold, and his 
wife and children and all that he had, and pay- 
ment to be made. The servant therefore fell 
down and worshipped him, saying, Xord, have 
patience with me and I will pay thee all.' And 
the Lord of that servant being moved 



94 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §18 

with compassion, released him and forgave 
him the debt. But that servant went out, and 
found one of his fellow-servants, who owed 
him a -hundred shillings, and he laid hold on 
him and took him by the throat, saying, ^Pay 
what thou owest/ So his fellow-servant fell 
down and besought him, saying, 'Have pa- 
tience with me and I will pay thee.' But he 
would not, and went and cast him into prison, 
till he should pay that which was due. So 
when his fellow-servants saw what was done, 
they were exceeding sorry, and came and 
told unto their Lord all that was done. Then 
his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, 
'Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that 
debt, because thou besoughtest me; shouldest 
not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow- 
servant, even as I 'had mercy on thee?' And 
his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the 
tormentors till he should pay all that was due. 
So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, 
if ye forgive not every one his brother from 
your hearts.'' 



THE PARABLES OF GRACE, 

JESUS' TEACHING CONCERNING THE 

RECONCILIATION OF SINFUL 

MAN WITH GOD. 



95 



§ ip. The Parables of Grace. 

Deep down in man's heart there is a feeHng 
of uneasiness on account of his shortcomings. 
In a thousand ways he has tried to devise some 
means whereby to wash away his guilt before 
God. And Jesus would fail to be a savior to our 
souls unless he could satisfy the accuser in our 
breast, for all means of salvation must in the 
end prove unavailing that do not save us from 
a guilty conscience. Sometimes man has stoutly 
denied his guilt, sometimes charged it upon the 
author of his being, sometimes denied his God, 
sometimes presumed that punishment will not 
overtake the wicked. But generally, we are 
glad to remark for the honor of our race, he 
has been more honest. He has acknowledged 
his debt and sought some way wherewith to 
pay it. He has brought gifts to God, offered 
sacrifices, done penance, fasted, tortured him- 
self and fled from the world. He has invented 
systems of justification by beliefs or by works 
and has sought for substitutes, but all, all in 
vain. Has Jesus an answer for this need? 

Yes. 

What is it? 

G 97 



98 JBSUS OF NAZARBTH. § 19 

That with God, mercy seasons justice. 

Yet Jesus has not made sin the less. He 
taught us that God is pure and holy, but not a 
God of implacable wrath. Not a tyrant un- 
touched with the weakness and suffering of his 
subjects, but a loving father, pleased with 
every endeavor, however feeble and imperfect, 
which His children make, to pattern their life 
after his will. 

But what shall the wayward child and prodi- 
gal son do? 

Return home. 

But who shall pay his debts and how shall 
his sins be washed away? Sins are not debts, 
they are not without the man, or separate from 
him, they are part of his character, therefore 
they cannot be paid for by another. Goodness 
and badness of heart are not transferable com- 
modities, moral qualities are not subjects of 
barter or exchange. 

How then can his sins be washed away ? 
They cannot be washed away, they can only be 
forgiven. What cannot be covered by the 
Father's love cannot be covered at all. 

Jesus has set forth his answer to the ques- 
tion of sinful man's restoration to acceptance 
with God in four matchless parables of grace : 



§ 19 PARABLES OF GRACE. 99 

(a) The Parable of the Lost Sheep. 

Lk. 15: 3-7 = Mt. 18:10-14. 

And he spake unto them this parable, 
saying : 

''What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and hav- 
ing lost one of them, doth liot leave the ninety and nine 
in the wilderness, and goeth after that which is lost, 
until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth 
it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh 
home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, 
saying unto them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found 
my sheep which was lost.' I say unto you, that even 
so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that 
repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous 
pers^gns, which think they need no repentance." 

(b) The Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver. 
Lk. 15:8-10. 

"Or what woman having ten pieces 01 silver, if she 
lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the 
house, and seek diligently until she find it? And when 
she hath found it, she calleth together her friends and 
neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found 
the piece which I had lost.' Even so, I say unto you, 
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over 
one sinne^ tka4 repenteth.'' 



100 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §19 



(c) The Parable of the Father's Welcome to the 
Prodigal Son. 

Lk. 15:11-32. Compare Mt. 21:28-32. 

And he said unto them, "A certain man had two sons: 
and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give 
me my portion of the inheritance/ And he divided unto 
them his living. Not many days after, the younger son 
gathered all together, and took his journey into a far 
country. There he wasted his substance with riotous 
living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty 
famine in that country; and he began to be in want. 
And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens 
of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed 
swine. And fain he would have been filled with the 
husks that the swine did eat, but no man gave unto 
him. 

"Then he came to himself and said, *How many 
hired servants of my father have bread enough and to 
spare, and I perish here with hunger! I will arise and 
go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have 
sinned against heaven and in thy sight: I am no more 
worthy to be called thy son, but make me as one of 
thy hired servants.' So he arose and came to his father. 
But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and 
was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his 
neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, 
^Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight: 
I am no more worthy to be called thy son.' But the 
father said to his servants, 'Bring forth quickly the best 
robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, 
and shoes on his feet : and bring the fatted calf, kill it, 
and let us eat, and make merry: for this my son was 
dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' 

"Now the elder son was in the field, and as he came 



§19 PARABLES OF GRACE. 101 

and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and danc- 
ing. And he called to him one of the servants, and in- 
quired what these things might be. And he said unto 
him. Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed 
the fatted calf because he hath received him safe and 
sound/ But he was angry and would not go in : and 
his father came out and entreated him. But he answered 
and said to his father, 'lo these many years do I serve 
thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine : 
and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make 
merry with my friends. But when this thy son came, 
which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou 
killedst for him the fatted calf.' And he said unto him, 
'Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is 
thine. But it was meet to make merry and be glad: 
for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; he 
was lost and is found.' " 

(d) The Parable of the Pharisee and Publican. 

Lk. i8 : 9-14. 

And he spake also this parable unto certain 
which trusted in themselves that they were 
righteous, and set all others at nought: 

"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one 
a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee 
stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank thee, 
that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, 
adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in 
the week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the pub- 
lican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as 
his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast saying, 'God, 
be thou merciful to me, a sinner.' I say unto you. This 
man went down to his house justified rather than the 
other. For every one that exalteth himself shall be 
humbled ; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 



102 JBSUS OF NAZARBTH. § 19 

The sum of these parables is that God freely 
and without price forgives the penitent sinner. 

But what of the impenitent sinner? 

He puts himself beyond the Father's forgiv- 
ing love, and as there is no. other way of salva- 
tion in heaven or earth, even God himself 
cannot help him so long as he abides in his 
impenitence. 

Theologians have told us that justice for- 
bids the free pardon of the sinner, but if it 
does, love and mercy forbid the perishing of 
the penitent, and where law does not avail, 
mercy prevails. — We shall do well not to be 
wise beyond that which is written. 



THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 
(THROUGH PEREA). 



103 



§ 20, The Inhospitable Samaritans. 

Lk. 9:51-56. 

We must return to the thread of our narra- 
tive. The last days in Gahlee were spent and 
Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem (Mk. 
10: if). He started to go through Samaria, 
but the Samaritans, between whom and the 
Jews there was much tenderly-nursed ill-feel- 
ing on account of their slight differences in 
religion, would not entertain Jesus over night 
on a journey to the Jewish Passover. John and 
James were ready to take vengeance, and 
thought that in such a righteous cause they 
had heaven at their command. They came to 
Jesus saying, 'Xord, wilt thou that we bid fire 
to come down from heaven, and consume 
them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 
He revenged not himself. He took the other 
road through Perea, leisurely journeying to 
Jerusalem to the feast, teaching the multitudes 
on the way. 



105 



106 JESUS OF NAZARETH, §21 



§ 21, Jesus Welcomes Children,'^ 

Mk. 10 : 13-16. 

At one of the halting-places some mothers 
brought their children to him that he might 
touch and bless them. The disciples had no 
patience with the little ones and drove the 
mothers away. But Jesus, seeing this, was 
indignant and said to them, ^'Suffer the little 
children to come to me; forbid them not, for 
to such belongeth the kingdom of God. Verily, 
I say unto you, 'Whosoever shall not receive 
the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in 
no wise enter therein.' '' And he took them in 
his arms and blessed them, laying his hands 
upon them. 



* We pass over tHe Pharisees' Question about Divorce. Mk. 
10: 2-12. 



§ 22 JESUS AND WEALTH. 107 



JESUS AND WEALTH. 

§ 22. Jesus and Wealth. (The Rich Young 
Man, etc.). 

Mk. 10 : 17-31. 

On this journey there also came to him a 
young man, who, falHng upon his knees, said, 
''Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may in- 
herit eternal life?'' Jesus said unto him, ''Why 
callest thou me good, none is good save one, 
even God. Thou knowest the commandments, 
'Do not kill,' 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not 
steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not de- 
fraud,' 'Honor thy father and mother.' " The 
young man said unto him, "Master, all these 
have r observed from my youth." And Jesus, 
looking upon him, loved him and said unto 
him, "One thing thou lackest, 'Go, sell whatso- 
ever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou 
shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, fol- 
low me." But his countenance fell at the say- 
ing, and he went away sorrowful, for he was 
one that had great possessions. 

Jesus did not call men to poverty, but often 
wealth stands in the way of duty. He meant 
to ofifer this young man a better opportunity, to 



108 JESUS OP NAZARETH. §22 

make of him another Paul, preaching to the 
ages, instead of being a mere administrator of 
his vast estates. But he could not quite stand 
the test. Sorrowfully Jesus turned to his dis- 
ciples and said : ''How hardly shall they that 
have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 
It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's 
eye, than for a rich man to enter into the king- 
dom of God. And his disciples were aston- 
ished exceedingly, saying unto him, ''Then 
who can be saved?'' Jesus looking upon them 
saith, "With men it is impossible, but not with 
God; for all things are possible with God." 

Peter then began to say unto him, "Lo, we 
have left all and followed thee.'' Jesus said, 
"Verily I say unto you, There is no man that 
hath left house, or brethren or sisters, or 
mother or father or children or lands, for my 
sake and for the gospel's sake, but he shall re- 
ceive of higher blessings, a hundredfold now 
in this time, and in the world to come eternal 
life. And many that are first shall be last, 
and the last first." 

But the service of God must not be polluted 
by the selfish desire for reward. The service 
itself is the blessing, not the pay received for 
it. This is the meaning of the following para- 
ble: (Lk. 17:7-10), "Who is there of you, 



§ 22 JESUS AND WEALTH. 109 

having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, 
that will say unto him when he comes in from 
the field, 'Come straightway and sit down to 
meat,' and will not rather say unto him, 'Make 
ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself 
and serve me, till I have eaten, and afterward 
thou shalt eat and drink.' Doth he thank the 
servant because he did the things that were 
commanded? Even so ye also, when ye shall 
have done all the things that are commanded 
you, say 'We are servants without merit, we 
have done no more than is our duty to do/ "'*' 



* Compare here also the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward, 
Ivk. i6: I -1 2; the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Lk. 
16: 19-31, and the Parable of the I^aborers in the Vineyard, Mt. 
20: 1-16. 



110 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §23 



§ i^j. The Unholy Ambition of James and 
John, 

Mk. 10:35-45. 

There was a great deal of undesirable human 
nature about these first disciples of Jesus. 
Much of his instruction went in at one ear and 
out at the other. Self-seeking and vanity are 
deeply ingrained in human flesh. A large 
part of our religious zeal comes from the 
desire to strut with starry crowns through 
golden streets in heaven, yet Jesus prom- 
ised his disciples more crosses than crowns. 
He offers no other reward than service. 
But it is hard to teach them so. Three 
times (Mk. 8: 3if ; 9 : 3of ; 10: 32f) Jesus had 
plainly told his disciples of the ignominious 
death to which he was going, but that did not 
put an end to the indulgence of their unholy 
ambitions. If in this life they must be humble, 
they would make up for it by a double portion 
of eminence in the life to come. So the very 
next thing we hear is that James and John 
come to Jesus and say : ^'Master, we would that 
thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall 
ask of thee." And he said unto them, ''What 
would ye that I should do for you?'' They 



§23 UNHOLY AMBITION. HI 

say unto him, ''Grant us that we may sit, 
one on thy right hand, and one on thy left 
hand, in thy glory/' But Jesus said unto 
them, "Ye know not what ye ask. Are 
ye able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be 
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized 
with?" And they said unto him: ''We are 
able." Jesus said unto them : "The cup that 
I drink, ye shall drink, and with the baptism 
that I am baptized with shall ye be baptized. 
But to sit on my right hand, or on my left, is 
not mine to give ; but it is for them for whom 
it hath been prepared." 

When the ten heard it, they began to be 
moved with indignation concerning James and 
John. And Jesus called them to him, and 
saith unto them, "Ye know that they which 
are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it 
over them; and their great ones exercise 
authority over them. But it is not so among 
you. Whosoever would become great among 
you, shall be your minister; and whosoever 
would be first among you shall be servant of 
all. For verily, the son of man came not to be 
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give 
his life a ransom for many." 

They that love reward more than ser- 
vice are unfit for the kingdom of God. Truly 
men need to be born again before they can 



112 JESUS OF NAZARETH, §24 

enter it, for in it it is accounted more 'blessed 
to give than to receive/ (Acts 20: 35.) 



§ 24, Arrival at Jericho. Zachaeus.^ 

Lk. 19: i-io. 

At last Jesus and his disciples with the 
crowds going up to Jerusalem, arrive at Jeri- 
cho. In passing he healed a blind beggar sit- 
ting by the way-side (Mk. 10:46-52 compare 
Mt. 9:27-31) and then found an opportunity 
such as he most delighted in, viz., of minis- 
tering to a burdened soul. 

In Jericho there was a man by the name of 
Zachseus. He was a chief publican and was 
rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was ; 
and could not for the crowd because he was 
small of stature. Therefore he ran on before, 
and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, 
for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus 
came to the place he looked up and said 
unto him, ^'Zachaeus, make haste and come 
down; for to-day I must abide at thy house." 
And he made haste and came down, and re- 
ceived him joyfully. And when they saw it, 
they all murmured, saying, ''He is gone in 
to lodge with a man that is a sinner." And 

* Compare here "The Raising of I^azarus," John, chapt. XI. 



§24 ARRIVAL AT JERICHO, 113 

Zachaeus stood and said unto Jesus, ''Behold, 
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; 
and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any 
man, I restore fourfold/' And Jesus said unto 
him, ''To-day is salvation come to this house, 
forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham/' 



THE LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM. 



us 



§ ^5- ^^^ Triumphal Entry. Visit to Bethany, 

Mk. II : i-ii. 

The festive pilgrims kept on increasing and 
the procession was drawing near the holy city. 
The multitudes were full of enthusiasm. As 
they neared Mt. Olives, a donkey was procured 
and triumphantly the disciples with the multi- 
tudes led Jesus into Jerusalem, shouting, ''Ho- 
sanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom that 
cometh, the kingdom of our father David ; Ho- 
sanna in the Highest." 

It was now eventide and Jesus with the 
twelve made their way back to Bethany, where 
he found entertainment during the Passover in 
the house of Martha and Mary. It may have 
been at this time, or some earlier visit of Jesus 
that the following incident (Lk. 10:38-42) 
took place in this happy Jewish home. Mary 
was sitting at Jesus' feet and heard his word. 
But Martha who was distracted about much 
serving, came to him, and said, ''Lord, careth 
thou not that my sister leaves me to serve 
alone, bid her therefore that she help me.'' 
But Jesus answered her, ''Martha, Martha, 

117 



118 JESUS OF NAZARBTH. §26,27 

thou art anxious and troubled about many 
things, but few things are needful, or one. 
Mary hath chosen a good part, it shall not be 
taken away from her." (Comp. Lk. 8: 1-3.) 
Friendship and the intercourse of heart with 
heart is better hospitality than royal entertain- 
ment. 



§ 26. The Cleansing of the Temple. 

Mk. II : 12-19. 

In the morning Jesus again went into Jeru- 
salem and entered the temple. When he saw 
how in the house of God there went on bar- 
gaining and merchandising, he was stirred in 
his soul and drove forth the sellers of sacri- 
ficial animals and the money-changers, saying, 
"It is written, My house shall be called a house 
of prayer for all nations, but ye have made it 
a den of robbers." 

§ ^7. Jesus Teaching in the Temple, 

Mk. 11:20-12:44. (Mt. 23:i-39 = Lk. 11:37-54). 

But the high-priestly family was running a 
monopoly of this temple business and derived 
not a little profit from its extortionate prac- 



§ 27 TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE, 119 

tices. When they heard how Jesus had inter- 
fered with their money-getting, they straight- 
w^ay began to devise means to put him out of 
the way. And Sadduccees as they were, for 
once they were wilHng to make common cause 
against Jesus with their enemies, the Phari- 
sees. Still, they feared the multitudes who 
favored Jesus, and so they determined to wait 
till after the feast. Thus for a few days Jesus 
was left unmolested teaching in the temple, ex- 
cept that his enemies had spies out, to manu- 
facture evidence which might serve as a pre- 
text to put him to death. They had but ill suc- 
cess in this. On the other hand, Jesus, seeing 
the utter hollowness of religion prevailing in 
the temple as everywhere else, publicly de- 
nounced his enemies. ''Woe unto you scribes 
and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ye shut the 
kingdom of heaven against men. Ye enter 
not yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are 
entering in, to enter. Ye tithe mint and anise 
and cummin, and have left undone the weight- 
ier matters of the law, justice, mercy and faith. 
Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat and 
swallow the camel." (Mt. 23: 13, 23, 24). — 
''Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in 
long robes, and to have salutations in the mar- 
ket-places, and chief seats in the synagogues. 






120 JESUS OP NAZARETH. §28 

and chief places at feasts; that they devour 
widow's houses, even while for a pretence they 
make long prayers/' (Mk. 12:38-40.) 



§ 28. The Widow's Two Mites. 

Mk. 12:41-44. 

These were mostly days of contention witfi 
his persecutors,^ yet there were some charm- 
ing incidents. One took place in the temple. 
Jesus had sat down over against the treasury 
and beheld how the multitude cast money into 
it. And many that were rich cast in much. 
And there came a poor widow, and she cast 
in two mites, which make a farthing. And he 
called unto him his disciples, and said unto 
them ^'Verily, I say unto you. This poor widow 
cast in more than all they which were casting 
into the treasury; for they all did cast in of 
their superfluity; but she of her want did cast 
in all that she had, even all her living." 

She did one of the greatest things that ever 
were done, she dedicated her all as best she 
knew to the service of God. 



* For the detailed account read Mk. 11:20-12:40, and com- 
pare John 12'. 20-50. 



§29 ANOINTED BY MARY. 121 

§ 2p. Jesus Anointed by Mary of Bethany.^ 

Mk. 14:3-9. (John 12:1-8.) 

Another beautiful scene took place in Beth- 
any. Undoubtedly his friends there knew his 
forebodings of his death and the plotting of 
his enemies against him. As he was sitting at 
meat in the house of Simon the leper, Mary, 
having- an alabaster cruse of ointment of pure 
nard, very costly, came and brake the cruse 
and poured it over his head. Some of the dis- 
ciples with strict ideas of inflexible utilitarian 
economy, said among themselves, ^^To what 
purpose hath this waste of ointment been made. 
It might have been sold for above three hun- 
dred shillings, and given to the poor." And 
they murmured against her. But Jesus said, 
"Why trouble ye her, she hath wrought a good 
work on me. The poor ye have always with 
you, and whensoever ye will ye can do them 
good; but me ye have not always. She hath 
done what she could; she hath anointed 
my body beforehand for burying. And verily 
I say unto you. Wheresoever the gospel shall 

* We pass by the E^schatological Discourses, including the 
Parable of the Talents and of the Ten Virgins and the lyast 
Judgment. Mk., chapt. 13; Mt., chapt. 24, and 25; I^k. 17: 20-37; 
18: 1-8; 13: 1-9; 12: 54-59; 19J 11-27. 



122 JESUS OF NAZARBTH. §29 

be preached throughout the whole world, that 
also, which this woman hath done, shall be 
spoken of for a memorial of her." 

To feed the poor is not the chief mission of 
Christianity. It has a much higher calling. 
It is to fill this world with the fragrance of 
love and plant the flowers of paradise in it. 
"Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever 
things are true, whatsoever things are pure, 
think on these things." 



THB PASSION HISTORY. 

(^Mark's Gospel, Chapter xiv, and xv.) 



123 



The Passion History. 

Mk., chapt. 14 and 15 (Mt., chapt. 26 and 27. Lk., 
chapt. 22 and 23; John, chapt. 13-19.) 

§ 50. Jesus' Last Day With His Disciples. 
The Lord's Supper. 

Mk., 14: 10-31. 

The passion history is related with great ful- 
ness in the gospels, but we cannot stop at de- 
tails. The rulers of the Jews had determined 
upon the death of Jesus, yet it was not very 
clear to them how to bring it about. The 
crowds were on the side of Jesus, so he could 
not be mobbed, and they lacked the legal 
authority to inflict capital punishment. But 
suddenly things took a strange turn, by which 
events played into their hands. In some way 
one of Jesus' own disciples, Judas, had become 
disaffected and went to the high-priest, offering 
to betray him into their hands (Mk. 14: lof). 
This led them to think that the time for action 
had come, and though the passover was imme- 
diately at hand, they resolved, if possible, to 
apprehend Jesus. 

It was on the day preceding the feast, 

125 



126 JESUS OF NAZARETH, §30 

on which the paschal lamb must be eaten. 
This was to be the last day that Jesus 
was together with his disciples. In the fore- 
noon he had sent two of them to prepare for 
the evening meal in the upper room of a friend. 
At the appointed time they were all gathered 
there. 

Jesus had become aware of the disloyalty of 
Judas and sorrowfully spoke of it at the table, 
but he did not directly mention the betrayer. 
Soon after Judas left on his dark errand. 

As they were eating the passover, Jesus took 
bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake 
it and gave to them, and said, ^'Take ye, this is 
my body." And he took a cup, and when he 
had given thanks, he gave to them and they all 
drank of it. And he said unto them, ''This is 
my blood of the covenant, which is poured out 
for many. Verily I say unto you, I shall no 
more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that 
day when I drink it new in the kingdom of 
God." (Mk. i4:22f).* 

When they had sung a hymn, they went out 
to the Mount of Olives. On the way there 
Jesus said to them, ''AH ye shall be offended; 
for it is written, 'I will smite the shepherd and 



* The student should not fail to read here the great discourses 
of Jesus in the Gospel of John (in the following order) : John 
i3:i-3ia; 15:1-25; 15:26-16:15; 16:16-33; chapt. 17; 13: 31- 
14: 31. 



§ 31 GBTHSBMANB. 127 

the sheep shall be scattered abroad !' But Peter 
said unto him, ''Although all shall be offended, 
yet will not I.'^ These words came from the 
bottom of his heart, Peter knew his love for 
his master, but alas, not what the next few 
hours would bring forth. Therefore Jesus said 
unto him, ''Verily, I say unto thee, that thou 
to-day, even this night, before the cock crow, 
shalt deny me." But Peter spake earnestly, 
"If I must die with thee, I will not deny thee.'' 
And in like manner said they all. 



§ J I. Gethsemane. 

Mk., 14:32-52. 

So they came to Gethsemane. It was mid- 
night, and darkness and gloom was breaking 
over the soul of Jesus. But he sought refuge, 
as so often before, in prayer. He took Peter 
and James and John aside from the others and 
said to them, "My soul is exceeding sorrow- 
ful, even unto death; abide ye here and watch." 
And he went forward a little and fell on the 
ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the 
hour might pass away from him. And he 
said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible 
unto thee; remove this cup from me, howbeit, 
not what I will, but what thou wilt." And he 



128 JBSUS OF NAZARETH, §31 

Cometh and findeth them sleeping, and saith 
unto Peter, ''Simon, sleepest thou? couldest 
thou not watch one hour ? Watch and pray that 
ye enter not into temptation, the spirit indeed 
is wilhng, but the flesh is weak/' And again 
he went away and prayed saying the same 
words. And so he did the third time. 

Let us tread silently here. This agony and 
self-mastery is too sacred for curious eyes to 
look upon. It was the hardest hour that Jesus 
passed through. Here he felt the weakness of 
the flesh. He did not want to go to the cross, 
he prayed that he might escape it. A writer 
of fiction would disdain such weakness in his 
hero. Not so Jesus, for the cross was very 
real to him. It w^as not the short hours of 
physical suffering that so weighed him down, 
but having lived according to the will of his 
Father and having spent his life in boundless 
love for his fellow-men, the kingdom of God 
had not come. His sun seemed to be setting in 
darkness to rise no more. O child of sorrow, 
thou art not alone in thy bitter disappoint- 
ment, the man of Gethsemane drank the cup 
to the dregs. At last he was enabled to say, 
''Not my will, but thine be done,'' but he felt 
how hard it was to say it. 

Is this an hour of weakness in Jesus ? No. 
What help could he have given to us men in 



§ 32 GBTHSEMANB. 129 

the flesh, if temptation had never touched him. 
If he had not sometimes felt it hard to walk in 
the path of duty and right, he might have been 
an example to angels, but he could not have 
brought succor to us mortals. The agony was 
bitter, the struggle was hard — but he came to 
resignation in the will of God. 

The betrayer now came with the band. Peter 
and the rest proved themselves men of their 
word. They w^ere ready to go to death with 
him. Peter drew his sword and would there 
have shed his last drop of blood in defense of 
his Lord. But Jesus forbade him. He wanted to 
be taken prisoner without resistance and com.- 
plaint. He had won his victory in Gethsemane 
and death had no more terror for him. 



§ 5^. The Trial 

Mk. 14:53-15:15. 

Jesus was taken before the high-priest first. 
Prompted by love for his master, Peter had 
followed from afar. He must see what was to 
be done to his Lord. He was a brave man. It 
was brave to fight single-handed in Gethse- 
mane the armed multitude. It was braver still 
after that to go to the high-priest's palace 
and face certain arrest. If he was to 



X30 JESUS OF NAZARETH. §32 

see the outcome, everything depended upon his 
remaining unrecognized. Accordingly, when 
he was pointed out by a servant maid, he de- 
nied, not his master, but his own identity. And 
this was a denial, prompted not half so much 
by fear for himself, as by love to his Lord. 
Whether this was sin, or only a pardonable 
confusion, let the Searcher of hearts decide. 
Had Peter not loved his master so well, he 
would have fled with the rest and never been 
tempted to deny his knowledge of Jesus. Some 
men are greater in their weakness than others 
in their haughty strength. The cock crew and 
Peter remembered the words of Jesus and went 
out and wept bitterly. 

It was morning now. The sanhedrin con- 
vened in legal session and pronounced Jesus 
guilty of death. As they could not execute 
their sentence, they went to Pilate, the Roman 
procurator, to have it ratified. This was not 
easy. Pilate soon saw that theirs were the 
machinations of malice. But if he was unwill- 
ing at first to condemn an innocent man, he 
could soon be co-erced into it by threats to 
make it unpleasant for him at Rome. He tried 
to wriggle out of it. He put up a murderer, 
Barabbas, alongside Jesus, for the choice of the 
priest-instigated mob. When that was with- 
out avail, superstitiously he washed his hands 



^33CRUCIFIXION, DEATH, BURIAL, 131 

in water, before the multitude, saying, ''I am 
innocent of the blood of this righteous man." 
But he was not, for he condemned the guilt- 
less one. What a tragedy! Innocence and 
Purity arraigned before a contemptible judge, 
accused by priests with hatred-filled hearts, 
clothed in sacred robes so over-holy that they 
would be defiled by entering the Gentile prae- 
torium. What a revealing of the secrets of 
men took place here. Pilate stood before his 
golden opportunity. He was called upon to 
make a great sacrifice for the right, but was 
not man enough to meet the occasion. He 
missed the triumph of his better nature by sell- 
ing his character for the sake of holding his 
office. Therefore his name has become the 
loathing of history, while He whom he con- 
demned shines as the synonym of all that is 
good. 



§ S3' The Crucifixion, Death and Burial. 
Mk. 15 : 16-47 

Pilate delivered Jesus over to be scourged 
and crucified. The Roman soldiers take him 
and think it an opportune time to mock the 
Jewish national hope. They place a crown of 
thorns upon the rejected Messiah, clothe him in 



132 JESUS OF NAZARBTH. §33 

purple and salute him, ''Hail, King of the 
Jews!" 

Then they lead him out, making him bear 
his own cross. They come to Golgatha and in 
a short time their gruesome work is done. 
They had nailed him to the cross and erected it 
between two malefactors. It was nine o'clock 
in the forenoon. Jesus hung upon the cross 
under the jeers and mockery of the by-stand- 
ers. He cried out, ''My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me," and gave up the ghost 
(Mk. 15:34). 

Is the cross the reward of uprightness? 
Tremble, O earth, for the cruel injustice that 
reigns upon thee. Hide thy face, O sun, thou 
light of the day, for malice and iniquity have 
crucified the greater light. And thou veil of 
the temple, rend thou in twain, for to-day sac- 
rilege has been committed against the Holy 
One of God. 

Where now were the disciples, who a few 
days previous were planning for the highest 
seats in the kingdom ? Let us pity them. Their 
highest hope is hanging upon the cross. They 
are plunged into the darkest of a dark night. 
Strangers in Jerusalem and without consola- 
tion, they had fled. Consternation kept them 
from the cross. Still, I am glad to tell 



§34 THE RESURRECTION. 133 

you, that their faith did not altogether fail. If 
Jesus was not the Messiah they had hoped he 
would be, still they cherished his memory as a 
prophet sent from God (Lk. 24: 19) who had 
spoken words to them that were never to be 
forgotten. 

Only the women seem to have been at the 
cross of Jesus. Woman is a ministering angel 
in the house of death and sorrow. Jesus died 
in a few hours. During his life, perhaps in 
these last few days, he had made at least a few 
friends that stood high in Jewish circles. One 
of them, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of 
the sanhedrin, begged Jesus' body from Pilate 
and laid it in his own sepulchre. The women 
looked on. I: was Friday evening, with sun- 
set came the sabbath and no more work must 
Le done that day. So they went home, and 
accordinr:* lo the commandment rested on the 
sabbath-day. 



§ 24, The Resurrection, 

Mk., chapt. 16; Mt., chapt. 2^\ Lk., chapt. 24; John 
chapt. 20 and 21. 

Is this the end of such a life as Jesus had 
lived? Do all our best endeavors, the noblest 
aspirations of the soul, do they all end in the 
grave? Is a tombstone the final fruition of a 



134 JBSUS OF NAZARETH, §34 

life of consecrated service ? From the deepest 
depths of our heart there reverberates again 
and again the answer No, No, No. For the 
seed to be laid in the earth is but to live again. 
Virtue is stronger than the grave, death is not 
the goal of life. 

Sunday morning came and the women re- 
turned to the sepulchre to complete the last 
rites of a Jewish burial, to pay the last loving 
tribute to the lacerated corpse of their master. 
But they found the tomb empty and an angel 
to tell them that he was risen from the dead. 

Thus he lived, thus he died, and thus he rose 
again and ascended to glory. 



the: end. 



INDEX. 



(The numbers refer to the sections.) 
A. I. 



Apathy of the multitude, iib. 
Ambition of James and John, 

B. 

Barabbas, 32 
Baptism of Jesus, 2. 
Beatitudes, 9a. 
Beelzebub calumny, iic. 
Bethany, visit to, 25. 
Blind man healed, 15, 24. 

C. 

Call of the twelve, 9, 12a. 
Capernaum, 

Jesus' first sabbath in, 5. 

Woe upon, iib. 
Caesarea Philippi, 15. 
Centurion of Capernaum, 10. 
Children, Jesus welcomes, 21. 
Cleansing of the temple, 26, 
Crucifixion, 33. 

D. 

Deaf-mute healed, 15. 
Demoniac healed, 5. 
Disciples, first, 4. 
Discipleship, exacting, 9f. 
Divorce, 21 footnote. 

Elating with unwashen hands, 

8c 
Evangelizing Galilee, 12. 
External religion, 8. 



Fasting, 8a. 
Forgiving, duty of, 18. 



Gerasene demoniac, 12a. 
Gethsemane, 31. 
Good Samaritan, 9a. 
Grace, parables of, 19. 



Inwardness of true religion, 
9C. 

J. 

Jairus' daughter, 12a. 

James and John, ambition of, 

Jesus, 

first preaching, 4. 

and the Pharisees, 6, 7, 8, 
lie, 27. 

and external religion, 8. 

and human sinfulness, 7. 

and his unbelieving kinsfolk, 
I id. 

teachings on true religion, 
9f. 

teachings on the grace of 
God, 19. 

periods of religious exalta- 
tion, I2C. 

predicts his passion, 23. 

loss of popular favor, 13. 

last day with his disciples, 

30. 
John the Baptist, 

preaching of, 2. 

messengers to Jesus, 11 a. 
Judas, 30. 

K. 

Kingdom parables of, iie. 
Kinsfolk, Jesus' unbelieving, 
iid. 



Last days in Galilee, 17. 
Leper cleansed, 6. 
Levi (Matthew), 7b. 
Lord's prayer, 9d. 
Lord's supper, 30. 
Lost coin, 19b. 
Lost sheep, 19a. 

M. 

Martha and Mary, 25. 
Mary anoints Jesug, 29. 



135 



135 



INDEX. 



Matthew, call of, yh. 
Miracles in Galilee, 12a. 
Multitude, apathy of, iib. 

N. 

Narrowmindedness, 17. 
Nazareth, Jesus rejected at, 

12b. 
Northern journeys, 13. 

P. 

Parables of Jesus, 

Good Samaritan, 9a. 

I^eaven, iie. 

lyost sheep, 19a. 

lyost silver-coin, 19b. 

Mustard seed, iie. 

Pharisee and publican, I9d. 

Prodigal son, 19c. 

Sower, lie. 

Treasure and pearl, iie. 

Unmerciful servant, 18. 

Unprofitable servants, 22. 
Paralytic of Capernaum, 7a. 
Peter, 

wife's mother healed, 5. 

denial of Jesus, 32. 
Pharisees and Jesus, 6, 7, 8, 
lie. 

Woes tipon, 27. 

Pharisaic righteousness, 9b. 
Pharisee and publican, igd. 
Pilate, 32. 
Prayer, 9d. 
Prodigal son, 19c. 

R. 

Religion, 
five essentials of, 9f. 
inwardness of true, 9c. 
Jesus and external, 8. 



Resurrection, 34. 
Rich young man, 22. 

S. 

Sabbath-observance, 8b. 
Samaritans, inhospitable, 20. 
Sermon on the mount, 9a. 
Signs, request for, iic. 
Sin, God forgives freely, i9d. 
Sin against the Holy Spirit, 

lie. 
Sinfulness, Jesus and human, 

Sinful woman, 7c. 

Son of man, 4. 

Success of Jesus' Capernaum 

ministry, na. 
Syrophoenician woman, 14. 
T. 

Teachings of Jesus, 9, 19. 
Temple, 

cleansing of, 26. 

Jesus teaching in, 27. 

triumphal entry, 25. 
Temptation of Jesus, 3. 
Transfiguration, 16. 
Triumphal entry, 25. 
Trust in God, 9e. 
Turning-point, 13. 
Twelve, call of, 9, 12a. 

sent out, i2c. 

W. 

Wealth, Jesus and, 22. 

Widow's mites, 28. 

Woman with an issue of blood, 

12a. 
Woman taken in adultery, 7d. 

Z. 

Zachaeus, 24. 



AUG. Q ^^ 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

^ 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



, liii 




?'''''*'i! liiliiiiiiii I ii 



"'■'■iiii! I 
'■ li'i 



i 
i 



inllljliliiliiiynii 






ii 'I I 



i!!l 



rill 
iiilll' 

■;-i!! 



n> i ly 
!! II r" 






I 

'iiniiiiiiii 

ijil!! 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 226 366 A 



iiiiiil ., 



-Jill 




